The proposed Lakeside Neighborhood Plan is back on the Flathead County Planning Board agenda for a second public hearing on Sept. 15.

An update of the 1995 Lakeside plan, the document has been in the works for three years. The Lakeside Community Council began holding meet-

ings in November 2007 and submitted the first version to the Planning Office in July 2009.

Since then the document has bounced between the Planning Board and Lakeside Community Council for revisions and language-tweaking. On June 29 the council considered the 27th version of the plan and unanimously recommended approval.

It has been a cumbersome project for a group of Lakeside community leaders that have been striving to get an updated plan that reflects the heavy growth in Lakeside over the past several years.

In the process the Lakeside Neighborhood Planning Committee and the county got sued over alleged violations of open meeting laws that involved a members-only Yahoo website used to disseminate information about the plan.

In the legal dispute, a group of two dozen Somers and Lakeside property owners is challenging the planning process and wants the Lakeside plan thrown out.

Despite the legal challenge, the neighborhood planning process has inched forward. The lawsuit is on hold until the commissioners make a final decision.

THE LAKESIDE plan covers roughly 24,060 acres, of which 6,880 acres are managed by the federal or state government and 17,180 acres are privately owned.

The planning area boundaries are Spring Creek Road to the north, the Lake County border to the south, Flathead Lake to the east and the approximate boundaries of U.S. Forest Service land to the west.

One of the final recommendations of the Planning Board to the neighborhood plan committee was to provide better maps showing the plan area and future land-use designations.

To that end, the committee now has detailed maps on the plan website at http://lakesideplan2008.com.

The plan calls for the western regions of the plan area to be designated remote forestry or rural residential for land-use purposes.

Closer to Lakeside, the designations are a mix of suburban residential, suburban mixed, lakefront residential and the Lakeside town center. Each proposed designation comes with a recommended density.

The lakefront residential zone, for example, would have a base density of one unit per 2.5 acres. In areas designated remote forestry, the density is one dwelling unit per 20 acres.

Land-use recommendations include focusing the highest densities in the downtown Lakeside area where utilities are readily available. It encourages new development along Flathead Lake to be single-family homes.

Commercial development is recommended in the downtown area instead of sprawling along the U.S. 93 corridor.

Other key recommendations include:

 Improve the connectivity of roads, initially focusing on roads connecting Bierney Creek and Blacktail roads.

 Encourage new development to use shared public or private sewer systems rather than septic systems.

 Focus new development away from remote areas and encourage clustering to protect wildlife habitat.

 Consider zoning the entire planning area in a community-led effort.

 Create a town center development plan addressing road connectivity, bike/pedestrian paths, expanded commercial development off U.S. 93, parking, appearance and business promotion.

If the Planning Board recommends approval of the Lakeside plan, it goes to the county commissioners for final approval. Once it receives commissioner approval, the plan would become an amendment to the Flathead County Growth Policy.

The board meets at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 15, in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

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