Flathead County Board of Adjustments approved a conditional use permit for an after-the-fact home occupation mechanic shop in Bigfork during their Oct. 1 meeting, with recommended changes from Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee.  

Next Level Mechanics, owned by Zachary Michnal, has been running as a major repair shop for roughly two years in a partially finished shop next to his residence, which was purchased in 2018 on Aero Lane. It is zoned SAG-5 Suburban Agricultural, which requires a conditional use permit for home occupation businesses with outbuildings, vehicle traffic that exceeds 16 cars a day, or where more than one non-family employee will work. 

The shop exceeds or has potential to exceed these limitations, and the property’s septic system has been deemed inadequate by the county. Michnal stated employees will use the bathrooms in the residence until a septic system can be implemented. A complaint was first received from a neighbor to the property in 2023 involving excessive traffic. 

Michnal alleged that the shop is operating as a stopgap to keep his family afloat. Reportedly, Michnal’s 2-year-old daughter fell in a septic system at the shop he was previously renting in Lake County, resulting in a conflict. 

 “We left the shop and of course I had a family to take care of, so we decided to move into our shop that was somewhat existing, I guess, if you will,” Michnal said. “Since then, we have basically finished up the whole shop besides the siding, which is on schedule. Was it intended originally to do it, no, but we had to do what we had to do, and I didn’t know it was going to go this way.” 

The CUP application would require Michnal to submit a waste management plan, apply for a new septic permit, and provide parking to the east of the shop with enough room for 12 cars but no more than 24 spaces. A parking lot screened from neighbor’s view would be installed east of the current shop and dust control implemented.  

Though all board members present approved of the application, Tom Davis noted, “I think where it becomes a little problematic is, at what point does it become a more full-blown business; is it by volume or number of employees, trips? I feel like this is probably at the threshold of making that leap, but it sounds like he’s got plans to accommodate that.” 

Michnal will have one year to comply with the conditions of the application and can remain in business during that time.