BLUAC presents slow but steady progress on neighborhood plan
The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee gave updates on their neighborhood plan research during their Thursday meeting, with progress on mapping and population analysis.
BLUAC intends to revamp the neighborhood plan, a document for the Bigfork area referenced by county planners, which was last updated in 2009. The progress is expected to take at least a year to complete, with committee members completing individual research to be compiled at a later date. As planning progresses, BLUAC has considered the possibility of holding meeting specifically for the Bigfork Neighborhood Plan.
“To minimize meeting overload, the committee will include a workshop on the BNP when there is a single application to review from Planning and Zoning on the last Thursday of each month. When there are multiple, or complex applications, the committee will hold a workshop on the Thursday prior to the regular meeting,” committee member and secretary Shelley Anderson noted.
Thursday’s updates included a map of the Bigfork area generated by the Flathead County GIS department, presented by committee member Jerry Sorensen. The map divided up the area by zone, which Sorensen predicted could be used for a capacity analysis to determine if rezoning is needed.
Bigfork Water and Sewer District manager Julie Spencer requested a map with an overlay of the district’s capacity be created, and Sorensen noted that maps will become available with all infrastructure. She noted that the district has encountered issues with single-family residences being multiplexed, and suggested BLUAC look into properties with multiple address listings to ensure they are complying with zoning. Bigfork Water and Sewer District is awaiting review on their recent capacity study.
Anderson presented information on Bigfork’s demographics compiled through census studies. Notable changes included an increase in the population’s age and income. In the future, BLUAC hopes to include housing trends and parse part-time from full-time residents to add depth to their research.
In other news, BLUAC recommended the approval of a zone change requested by George and Elaina Weyl for their parcel at 395 Ferndale Drive. The Weyls proposed changing the property from SAG-5 suburban agricultural to R-2.5 rural residential, with the goal of ultimately divide the 6 acre parcel to transfer part to their son. BLUAC members noted that the change is inline with the character of the surrounding properties.
Information on BLUAC meetings is available at the Flathead County Planning and Zoning website, https://flathead.mt.gov/department-directory/planning-zoning.