Meeting postponed for KGEZ tower request
A Flathead County Board of Adjustment meeting scheduled July 11 to consider a proposal to relocate KGEZ’s radio towers to the West Valley and a formal appeal of the proposal, has been rescheduled for Aug. 1.
Only three Board of Adjustment members are available for the July 11 meeting — barely a quorum — so the applicants with agenda items chose to postpone their requests until a full board can consider them, according to the Planning Office.
KGEZ station owner John Hendricks has asked the county for a conditional-use permit to erect two 325-feet-tall transmission towers 900 feet apart on James Hanson’s farmland at the northwest corner of Farm to Market Road and Clark Drive near Kalispell.
Hendricks is looking for an alternative site for the radio towers because the land he now leases is on track to be developed and his lease won’t be renewed.
The Planning Office has received about 15 letters from West Valley residents, most of whom are concerned about the lights and appearance of the towers.
The KGEZ permit request began winding its way through the county planning process on May 23 when the West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee met to consider making a recommendation to the Board of Adjustment. About 20 West Valley residents attended the meeting and raised concerns about what they see as an intrusion to an area that is largely farmland and residential homes.
Both West Valley residents and land-use committee members voiced concern about the timing of the notification process for the proposed conditional-use permit. Some property owners didn’t receive their notice until the day of the land-use committee meeting.
Planner Kari Neilsen said the process for adjacent neighbor notification has not changed. Notices generally are sent out two weeks before the Board of Adjustment meeting, but some land-use advisory committee meetings occur much earlier, she said, and notices don’t arrive on time, especially if the neighborhood meeting occurs more than two weeks before the scheduled Board of Adjustment meeting.
Instead of making a recommendation on the KGEZ tower request, the land-use committee instead asked Planning Director Mark Mussman, the county’s zoning administrator, to determine if the proposed use — a commercial transmission tower — is the same as the conditional use of “communication towers, masts,” listed in the county zoning regulations.
The committee further asked Mussman to consider the West Valley Neighborhood Plan regarding limitations on commercial development and preservation of rural character.
Mussman ruled May 31 that the county zoning code doesn’t make any distinction between commercial or non-commercial communication towers, and said Hendricks’ request can move forward in the process.
Mussman’s ruling triggered a formal appeal from Linda Newgard, who lives near the proposed tower site. She asserts that commercial uses in the West Valley Neighborhood Plan are limited to one convenience store in one specific location and to home-based businesses in order to retain the rural character of the area.
The Board of Adjustment will consider Newgard’s appeal prior to hearing Hendricks’ request at the Aug. 1 meeting. If the board grants the appeal, the conditional-use permit request for the towers won’t move forward.
If the appeal is denied, the board will proceed with conditional-use permit request.
On June 19, Mussman issued an analysis to Newgard’s appeal, responding in writing to address her assertions. He said that while the neighborhood plan mentions that new businesses should be discouraged, “neither the land-use goals nor policies specifically suggest that any new commercial or industrial development is discouraged.”
Mussman also noted the adopted zoning regulations don’t differentiate between commercial or non-commercial communication towers. Also, other conditional uses in the West Valley district include uses such as animal hospital/veterinary clinic, RV park, camp and retreat center, cellular tower, golf course, gravel extraction, gun club, shooting ranch, commercial hunting ranch for small game, neighborhood convenience store and commercial stable/riding academy.
“Many of these conditional uses include the word ‘commercial’ and all of them are commercial in nature,” Mussman wrote.
Newgard’s appeal, along with the full text of Mussman’s analysis and the Board of Adjustment’s memorandum can be found on the county website, flathead.mt.gov. Go to the Planning and Zoning Department; click on Board Calendar and then on Meeting Information.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.