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County board of adjustment considers recreation facilities, retreat

HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
by HEIDI DESCH
Heidi Desch is features editor and covers Flathead County for the Daily Inter Lake. She previously served as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, spending 10 years at the newspaper and earning honors as best weekly newspaper in Montana. She was a reporter for the Hungry Horse News and has served as interim editor for The Western News and Bigfork Eagle. She is a graduate of the University of Montana. She can be reached at [email protected] or 406-758-4421. | June 4, 2024 12:00 AM

The Flathead County Board of Adjustment on Tuesday will look at two requests for recreational facilities and a retreat center.

The board’s agenda also includes continuing discussion on a request for a school to operate outside Whitefish. The board of adjustment meets at 6 p.m. in the South Campus Building at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.

A recreational facility designed for events hosting up to 200 people is proposed at 24 Cowboy Trail off West Springcreek Road in West Valley. Darla and Larry Meadows are requesting a conditional use permit to allow for the facility at 4,860 square feet in size, along with a 500-square-foot covered driveway, on 5 acres. 

The property contains a single-family residence, which the owners are proposing to use as a short-term rental which requires a separate application process. The owners in their application say they would like to have private parties/by-invitation events including weddings, receptions, dinners, business mixers, holiday and special occasion parties. 

In Bigfork, Paul Henion is requesting a conditional use permit to construct a recreational facility at 261 Montana 83. The property is 5 acres in size and contains a single-family dwelling. 

The planned facility at 10,800 square feet would be designed for sports training. The facility would be by reservation only and aims to fill a void in indoor training facilities as sports are expanding and gaining even more popularity in Bigfork, according to the application. 

Also near Bigfork, Maddy Snipes and Mitch Jones are seeking a conditional use permit to allow for a camp/retreat center at 283 and 285 Ramsfield Road. The facility would host quilt retreats. 

The property is about 79 acres and contains a hop and fruit tree farm called Big Sky Orchards & Hops Farm. It also includes a single-family home, guest house, agricultural shop and various outbuildings/sheds. About 20 acres of the property is used for agriculture. 

The proposed 6,256-square-foot community center building would contain a kitchen, dining facility and eight bedrooms. The center would host about 25 quilting retreats per year, each averaging four to five days with a maximum of 32 attendees. 

The board will again look at a request for a conditional use permit to allow for a private school at 1840 E. Edgewood Drive, Whitefish on about 10 acres. The board held a public hearing on the matter last month but asked for more information regarding traffic safety and fire prevention. 

The school is expected to have a maximum of 120 students attending up to eighth grade. 

The board will also look at an after-the-fact request from the Deubel/Daunt Living Trust for a variance to the front and side yard setbacks for an existing structure. The property is located at 402 N. Foys Lake Drive near Kalispell. 

The board will consider a request from Jennifer Nason for a variance to the front yard setback requirements for a principal structure at 929 Electric Ave. in Bigfork. 

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

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