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Whitefish Mountain Resort looks to create new subdivision

HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 5 months AGO
by HEIDI DESCH
DEPUTY EDITOR, FEATURES Heidi Desch is the Deputy Editor at the Daily Inter Lake, overseeing coverage of arts, culture, lifestyle, community, and business. Desch leads reporters in developing stories that highlight the people, traditions, and events shaping Northwest Montana, guiding content across print and digital platforms. With more than 20 years of journalism experience, including serving as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, Desch is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She has received multiple Montana Newspaper Association awards, including part of the team leading the Daily Inter Lake to Best Daily Newspaper in Montana Award and the General Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025. IMPACT: Heidi’s work connects readers with stories that deepen the understanding of the community beyond daily news. | February 13, 2024 11:00 PM

The company that owns Whitefish Mountain Resort is seeking to develop a small residential subdivision on Big Mountain.

Winter Sports Inc. is proposing to create a subdivision with 18 residential lots and one recreational lot that would be for use by the nonprofit DREAM Adaptive Recreation. The lots would be accessed from Glades Drive.

The plan goes before the Flathead County Planning Board on Wednesday, Feb. 14. The county board meets at 6 p.m. in the South Campus Building at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. 

The board’s agenda also includes six other public hearings. Following the regular meeting, the board will hold a work session regarding amendments to the lake and lakeshore protection regulations. 

Winter Sports is looking to turn undeveloped land near Chair 9 into the subdivision. Ten of the lots would be a half-acre or smaller, and eight would be larger than a half-acre but smaller than one acre.

The plan calls for extending Glades Drive where it ends in a cul-de-sac east throughout the subdivision. A gravel road would be roughed in that circles Stoltz Knob for emergency use, but would be brought up to county standards when future phases are developed in the East Village area, according to the staff report. 

The proposed subdivision would provide 1.869 acres of open space and the preliminary plat includes several 60-foot-wide zipline easements and a 60-foot-wide future lift line easement. 

Items on the planning board agenda include:

• A zone change request from Dana Kuzam for a parcel located off Conifer Lane in Bigfork from SAG-10 to SAG-5. The total acreage involved is 26.656 acres.

• A zone change request from the Jill L. Frampton Revocable Trust for a 15.24-acre property at 125 Wagon Wheel Road in Whitefish. The change is from SAG-10 to SAG-5. 

• A zone change from Maiya and Ivan Shelko for a 5.74-acre property at 58 Wintercrest Ridge near Kalispell from SAG-5 to R-2.5. 

• A zone change request from Ronald and Jill Catlett and Susan Nicely for four separate parcels from R-1 to R-4. The properties are located at 532, 534, 536, 538, 540 and 544 East Evergreen Drive and are 3.34 acres. 

• A request from C&J Land Development for preliminary plat approval of Bitterroot Flats East, a proposal to create four single-family residential lots on 37.463 acres located off Lower Lost Prairie Road in Marion. 

• A request from Derek and Tami Larsen for a lakeshore construction permit to install a T-dock and two sets of stairs within the lakeshore protection zone of Lake Five. The property is located at 1547 Grizzly Spur in West Glacier. 

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or [email protected].  

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