The Lakeside Community Council met two weeks ago to appoint members to the newly formed Lakeside Town Center Committee, which will investigate the need to update and revise the existing zoning for the town center area of the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan.

At the request of the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan Committee (LNPC) in January, the council moved to establish a second planning committee with the singular focus on the area referred to in the revised neighborhood plan as the Lakeside Town Center.

The new committee, under the direction of Lakeside council member Brent Hall, will operate in parallel with the LNPC but will focus exclusively on re-examining the existing zoning district and determining whether the current needs of the district necessitate a change in boundaries to accommodate present and guide future growth. The town center committee will study current impacts, determine existing needs and develop a working plan for promoting smart, sustainable growth in the town center.

According to the LNPC, the town center area is defined by the boundaries of the Lakeside Zoning District, which is divided into three sub-districts. However, the area to be considered by the new committee includes all of the properties within the two sub-districts that allow commercial business as permitted uses, along with the addition of adjacent properties that are currently used commercially but not included in the zoning district.

Acting on Hall's recommendation, council members appointed Rex Boller, also a council member, Muffie Thomson of Flathead Bank, Josh Townsley of Tamarack Brewing Company, Lakeside businessman Bill Eisenlohr and Charles Lapp of Spurwing Subdivision to the committee.

Council Chairman Greg Schoh also announced that the commissioner-appointed seat for the community council is currently open. Although it is an appointed position, the council traditionally makes a recommendation to the commissioners. Schoh encouraged anyone who is interested in serving on the council to e-mail him at council@montanaland.com or otherwise communicate their interest o the community council.

"We would like to be able to recommend someone, rather than the commissioners just pulling a name out of a hat," Schoh said.