Marijuana business owners want to cultivate their product in business zones, where dispensing is permitted, but the Flathead County Planning Board was mixed on the proposal.

An application to permit indoor growth and cultivation in B-1 business zones failed to get the board’s positive recommendation during its Oct. 15 meeting. Voting on the request ended in a tie.  

The board acts in an advisory role to the Flathead County Board of Commissioners, which will make the final decision.  

The cultivation, manufacturing and dispensing of marijuana is permitted in zones that allow for agriculture and produce stands. This includes agricultural zones (AG-80, AG-40, AG-20), suburban agricultural zones (SAG-10, SAG-5), rural neighborhoods (R-2.5), residential zones (R-1) and business service districts (BS). 

But the distribution of marijuana is only permitted in business zones. This has put limitations on some marijuana growers who want to save on costs by cultivating and dispensing under one roof.  

First Class Grass owner Jim Roth, who submitted the application, told board members a zone change would save him money on labor, especially since this industry is heavily taxed by the state. Roth said he made a payment of $24,000 in taxes that day.  

Angela Palmer, a marijuana cultivator and business owner, encouraged expanding indoor growth and cultivation permits to all business zones. The marijuana industry is heavily regulated, she said, and the ability to cultivate and sell in one area makes it easier to comply with the state. 

Three Planning Board members supported the zone change as a necessary step toward solving a bigger issue of marijuana regulation. Elliot Adams and Marie Hickey-AuClaire argued it’s more appropriate to see indoor cultivation permitted in a business area, rather than a residential neighborhood.  

“It’s already legal,” Adams said. “It’s a matter of where we put this.” 

Planning and Zoning Director Erik Mack said the issue warranted a more comprehensive look in the near future, regardless of whether county officials approved the change.  

But opponents on the board expressed concern over its potential effects on other businesses. Board member Michael Kopitzke, who also represents the Flathead Conservation District, hesitated to support the zone change without hearing from other business owners, first.  

“This is really a motion to help one individual,” Kopitzke said. 

He and a couple of other board members brought up their personal reservations on the substance. Board member Verdell Jackson said he gets discouraged when he reads about people driving under the influence of drugs, including marijuana, in the news. 

“I think the marijuana would probably be cheaper, more plentiful,” Jackson said of the zone amendment. 

The motion to positively recommend the zone amendment to county commissioners failed in a 3-3 vote. Board member Buck Breckenridge removed himself from the vote, and Chair Jeff Larsen was absent from the meeting. 

IN OTHER matters, board members unanimously supported an application to rezone land in West Valley for purposes of residential development. The properties, located at 985 Three Mile Drive and 1376 and 1390 Farm to Market Road, cover about 238.715 acres of land.    

In anticipation of Kalispell’s continued growth, West Valley property owners sought to reduce minimum lot requirements from 80 acres to 5 acres per lot and make boundary readjustments. A staff report estimated the zone change would result in 43 additional residential lots.  

Jenna Anderson of Lost Creek Drive spoke against the zone change during public comment, listing concerns over increased traffic, unaffordable housing, overdevelopment and potential strains on local emergency services.  

However, the Planning and Zoning director rebutted several of the claims. Mack noted that none of the houses in this area are unaffordable, with some going for $500,000. He also said 5-acre residential lots are already permitted in the West Valley Zoning District. 

Board member Buck Breckenridge, who motioned to forward the application with a positive recommendation, said the zone change was the best alternative to prepare for the city’s population growth.  

“This land, it will be annexed someday,” Breckenridge said. “If our intent is to preserve some farmland, or some open land, this would [do it].” 

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].