A new version of the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan is ready for prime time and will be considered for approval by the Lakeside Community Council on Feb. 23.

The latest draft includes changes suggested by the Flathead County Planning Board following a work session in October 2009 when board members went through the 157-page plan page by page.

Recommended changes were turned over to the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan Committee for consideration.

The committee also considered input from Citizens for a Better Flathead and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It also took into account the withdrawal of the Eagle Crest application for Phases 5 to 9 of that major development project.

If the Lakeside Community Council approves the revised plan, it will move back to the Planning Board for a public hearing.

After the hearing, the board can issue a recommendation to the county commissioners for final approval. Once approved by the commissioners, a 30-day protest period is required before the Lakeside plan can be officially adopted as an amendment to the Flathead County Growth Policy.

THE LAKESIDE planning effort has been moving forward slowly since controversy tripped up the process last summer.

At issue was a members-only Yahoo Web site used for a time by the committee to conduct business as the plan was being drafted. That prompted a group of Lakeside and Somers area property owners to sue the county, Planning Director Jeff Harris and the neighborhood plan committee, challenging the planning process and alleging violations of open meeting laws.

The legal challenge also includes a request for an injunction to stop the Lakeside planning effort.

The lawsuit still is pending in Flathead District Court.

One of the key changes in the new draft is language aimed at discouraging further commercial development along U.S. 93 both north and south of the downtown Lakeside area in an effort to protect views and promote traffic safety.

Policies for commercial development would encourage frontage roads and development in existing nodes but not in “strip” patterns. Heavy industrial development in the planning area would be discouraged.

At the suggestion of the Planning Board, the committee deleted policies that would have discouraged business types not supported by the community and which recommended improving the appearance of the town center.

The board also recommended adding consideration of incorporating Lakeside. Since the original 1994 plan was put in place, the community twice has seriously considered becoming an incorporated city, but cost has been the biggest deterrent.

Another board recommendation was to change the plan language from discouraging planned-unit developments on the Flathead Lake waterfront to “discourage high-density development on the waterfront to preserve site lines through properties and protect the lake.”

The Lakeside Neighborhood Plan Web site at http://lakesideplan2008.com, has two versions of the draft plan available. One version has tracked changes so the public can see all the changes made since the October 2009 Planning Board work session. A second version has all changes accepted, which is the version that will be submitted to the county if approved by the community council.

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