Neighbors oppose plan to move KGEZ towers

West Valley resident appeals zoning administrator’s ruling

By LYNNETTE HINTZE

Daily Inter Lake

A plan to relocate KGEZ’s radio towers from South Kalispell to the West Valley has sparked complaints from West Valley residents over the proposed relocation and a formal appeal to the Flathead County Board of Adjustment.

KGEZ station owner John Hendricks recently asked the county for a conditional-use permit to erect two 325-feet-tall transmission towers 900 feet apart on James Hanson’s agricultural land at the northwest corner of Farm to Market Road and Clark Drive near Kalispell.

The land where the towers currently are located is owned by the Gardner family. Hendricks said the Gardners plan to develop their land and won’t be renewing his lease for the tower space. Plans are already in the works to relocate the radio station sometime in August to 315 First Ave. E. in the former Saverud Paint building in downtown Kalispell.

The West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee met May 23 to consider making a recommendation to the Board of Adjustment and was confronted by about 20 West Valley area residents who raised concerns about a number of issues. Neighbors were concerned about the lights and appearance of the towers and wondered about potential health impacts from the microwave link associated with the towers.

Both West Valley residents and the land-use committee raised 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. The committee pointed out to county planning staff that the staff report noted “no public comment received,” yet the report was written on or before May 18, while the public notices weren’t sent out until May 19.

After mulling the request, the land-use committee chose not to make a recommendation, but voted instead to ask county Planning Director Mark Mussman, who serves as the zoning administrator, to make a determination if the proposed use — a commercial transmission tower — was 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 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.

“If the intent was to require conditional use approval for communication towers that were limited to ‘non-commercial’ radio entities with two-day communication services, the regulations should have specifically limited communication towers to non-commercial towers,” Mussman maintained.

“In addition, consistency with the neighborhood plan is not a review criteria considered for any conditional-use permit request,” he further stated in his ruling. “It will be up to the Board of Adjustment to determine whether this request meets the review criteria outlined [in the county zoning code].”

Hendricks’ request was on the June 6 Board of Adjustment agenda for a public hearing, but the hearing was postponed when West Valley resident Linda Newgard filed a formal appeal on June 2 that the Board of Adjustment will consider at its July 11 meeting prior to the scheduled hearing on Hendricks’ conditional-use permit request.

Newgard, who lives at 905 Clark Drive, alleges the zoning administrator failed to consider the West Valley Neighborhood Plan land use and goals to “maintain the scenic quality” and to “continue to prohibit commercial uses.”

Newgard also wrote a letter to Mussman, stating she believes his ruling flies in the face of “well-established case law and planning statutes governing zoning and neighborhood plans and growth policies.

“Commercial uses in the West Valley Neighborhood Plan are very specifically limited to one convenience store in one specific location and to home businesses,” Newgard asserted. “This limitation was a carefully debated and adopted part of the West Valley plan in large part to retain the rural residential and agricultural character of the plan area, and the property values and rights of those investing in this plan area.”

If the Board of Adjustment upholds the appeal, Hendricks’ application would be voided.

Hendricks said the pressure is on to find a new spot for the towers. A lot of research went into finding Hanson’s land, he said, and the Federal Aviation Administration already has approved the West Valley site. The Federal Communications Commission won’t consider the relocation until a conditional-use permit has been approved, Hendricks said.

“It’s very difficult to find a place,” he told the Daily Inter Lake on Monday. “There are all kinds of restrictions, and a lot of private air strips out there.

“I have two problems,” Hendricks continued. “Problem one is I need to put the towers somewhere. Problem two is I can’t have a bunch of people mad at me.

“I’m a little desperate; I need that spot, but the last thing I want is to hurt anybody,” Hendricks said. “If I thought for a minute we’d cause these people undo hardship … it really will be a minimal impact.”

Hendricks said he is looking for other sites as a backup, but he believes he has a legal right to erect the towers at the proposed location, “and Jim Hanson has a legal right to have us there.

“If I can’t find a place for the towers, we’re done,” Hendricks said, describing his continued efforts over the past several years to provide community service and news through the radio station that had a troubled past under a previous owner about a decade ago. The station began serving Northwest Montana in 1927.

Board of Adjustment decisions are considered final rulings and do not go to the county commissioners for further consideration. The board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, in the second-floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.