The process of absorbing Whitefish lakeshore regulations into Flathead County’s regulations continues Tuesday with two public hearings before the county commissioners.

At 10 a.m. a hearing will be held to consider adding Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes as a text amendment to county lakeshore regulations. A second related hearing at 10:30 a.m. focuses on rescinding the existing lakeshore regulations for those two lakes.

Flathead County is assuming jurisdiction of the two lakes because a Montana Supreme Court ruling last year ceded planning control from the city of Whitefish to the county following a long-running legal battle over control of the “doughnut” area outside of Whitefish.

The Whitefish Lakeshore Protection Committee, a joint city-county group that has dealt with lakeshore issues for nearly three decades, was disbanded following the high court ruling, though the city will continue to have planning jurisdiction over about a quarter of Whitefish Lake’s shoreline that falls within city limits.

The Whitefish Lake jurisdiction is complicated by Whitefish’s 2005 decision to annex Whitefish Lake to the low-water mark.

The Flathead County Planning Board is recommending adding language to the county lakeshore regulations that sets specific elevation values for the two lakes.

Lost Coon Lake’s mean annual high-water elevation would be listed as 3,104 feet. Whitefish Lake’s low-water mark would be 2,996.44 feet.

The mean annual high-water elevation for Whitefish Lake has been established at 3,000.63 feet.

Earlier this year the commissioners agreed the county’s lakeshore regulations need an update and that the Planning Board should prioritize that review when it puts together its annual work plan for the year.

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