Two public hearings on Thursday are among the final steps in Flathead County’s takeover of zoning for 12,740 acres of land known as the Whitefish “doughnut.”

The county is converting the zoning in the area around Whitefish from city to county classifications, following a July 2014 state Supreme Court ruling that ceded planning control to the county.

The first hearing, scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, will consider creating five new county zoning classifications to mirror zoning classifications Whitefish used in certain outlying areas. The new county zoning would include Big Mountain resort residential, Big Mountain village, business service district, secondary business and low density resort residential.

A second hearing at 11 a.m. focuses on establishing the Rural Whitefish Zoning District.

The city of Whitefish emailed the county commissioners earlier this year, stating the city “commends the county’s efforts to mirror as closely as possible the former Whitefish zoning districts.

“We support the creation of all five new zoning districts as proposed. We believe this will make for a smooth transition and create the least amount of uncertainty for future development,” city officials wrote. “It will also provide the least amount of disruption if any of the properties so zoned opts to annex into the city at some point.”

The city continues to be concerned, however, about the proposed 2.5-acre and 5-acre zoning for 350 acres around Lost Coon Lake and the Karrow Avenue area where 15-acre zoning now exists.

“The Whitefish growth policy anticipated that area to remain large lot rural for both aesthetics and as a placeholder for sensible future growth as the city limits expand,” Whitefish Planning Director David Taylor said in written comments.

Those concerns were considered by the Flathead County Planning Board, but the county’s proposed recommendations for zoning in the Karrow and Lost Coon Lake areas remained the same.

Marilyn Nelson, a Blanchard Lake Road resident, pointed out in her written comments that much of the land in the Karrow area is not suitable for residential density requiring individual wells and septic systems because of high ground water and wetlands.

“I would only hope that you would consider those of us who have lived here for decades when you decide whether it now makes sense to allow our rural neighborhoods to be diced up into little pieces to benefit a few,” Nelson said.

On Houston Drive and some parcels along East Lakeshore Drive, zoning on the Whitefish Lake side of the road had been proposed to change from R-1 residential with a 1-acre minimum lot size to R-2 residential with a 20,000-square-foot lot size.

Following neighborhood opposition, the Planning Board recommended retaining the R-1 zoning.

Stream setbacks have been another thorny issue in the proposed county zoning district for the doughnut. The county intends to impose a 20-foot setback for streams, which would affect Second Creek, the city’s primary water source. The city’s water quality ordinance set a 200-foot buffer for streams in that area.

County Planner Erik Mack, who has been handling the staff reports for the Rural Whitefish Planning District, said the Planning Office has been flooded with emailed comments over the last couple of weeks.

The biggest concern is the potential for commercial sprawl along the U.S. 93 highway corridor. Mack pointed out, however, that the highway corridor south of Montana 40 is not part of the interim zoning district and thus isn’t part of the proposed Rural Whitefish Planning District.

“Zoning south of highway 40 (along U.S. 93) was always SAG-5 (suburban agricultural with a 5-acre minimum lot size),” Mack said. “It’s all SAG-5 on both sides of 93.”

The county commissioners will make a final decision on the zoning amendments and proposed county zoning district some time after the public hearings. The interim zoning in place doesn’t expire until next September.

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