The Lakeside Community Council held its first meeting in more than two years on June 30 after securing a full slate of members in the May election.  

The council’s revival comes at a time when Lakeside is grappling with numerous divisive development projects, including a luxury gated community, golf course, marina and new wastewater treatment facility project. The council’s new members expressed at the first meeting a desire to preserve the Lakeside way of life for those who live there. 

“Since it’s a community council, I would like to get the voices of the community heard better,” said council member Gina Asbridge, who has lived in Lakeside for more than 50 years in the same house her grandfather built.   

Council member Kate Droll, an attorney who serves as general counsel for a commercial construction subcontractor, has actively opposed several development projects in the Lakeside area, including Lakeside County Water and Sewer District’s wastewater treatment facility project. 

“I've spent the past year or so digging into Lakeside, trying to better understand our zoning, speaking in front of the Planning Board, the county commissioners, Board of Adjustment, trying to provide a voice for our community of Lakeside,” Droll said. “I have five children, and I would love for them to grow up here and to come back here. I want to do everything I can for our community.” 

The council is a land use advisory committee that acts in an advisory capacity to the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Board regarding development in unincorporated areas. The council does not have the ability to levy taxes or impose mandates on Lakeside residents.  

The council reviews applications for conditional use permits, subdivisions and projects with major variances on lakeshores or in floodplains, listens to public comments and makes recommendations. 

April Derbyshire, Flathead County Planning and Zoning’s office administrator who was present for the council’s first meeting, said the council’s work is important for the members of the Planning Board and commissioners who do not live in the communities they are making decisions for.  

The new council members bring a mix of experience with backgrounds in law, real estate and planning management. In addition to Asbridge and Droll, council members include Adrianna Douglas, Damian Hurst, Jared Peifer and Shelly Ragland. Ragland was unable to attend the first meeting and is unsure if she will be able to fulfill her duties on the council, according to Derbyshire. 

If this is the case, the council will seek interested candidates from the community to fill the vacant seat. A seventh member of the council will be appointed by the county Planning and Zoning Board.   

At the first meeting, council members elected officers and drew lots to determine term length. Droll was elected chair, Asbridge vice chair and Douglas secretary. Droll and Douglas drew one-year terms, Peifer a two-year term and Asbridge and Hearst drew three-year terms.   

Land use advisory committees are also responsible for the area’s neighborhood plan, a document outlining an area’s vision for growth that is consulted by the Planning and Zoning Board as they make their decisions. The Lakeside Neighborhood Plan has not been updated since 2010, and the new council members discussed the need to make updating the neighborhood plan a priority to reflect the changes that have happened in the community over that time.   

The Lakeside Community Council has had a challenging past. In 2016, all seven council members resigned over a dispute with county commissioners related to proposed changes in the board’s bylaws that would allow the council to review land use applications for the Board of Adjustment, which would allow the council to make recommendations for zone changes or variances.  

The council was defunct until 2023, when the development of a controversial alpine coaster motivated community members to revive the council. The council met for a year before disbanding again. 

“I would like us to go ahead and regularly meet, even if we don't have agenda items from the county, to allow the public to come and voice their comments and concerns. They need consistency. We need consistency as a council,” said Droll.  

Now that the council is meeting again, there are several high-profile projects looming in the background, including Discovery Land Company’s Territory 1889 development that includes more than 350 homes, a golf course and a marina. While major projects like these are front and center for many Lakeside residents, applications won’t necessarily pass through the Lakeside Community Council, according to Derbyshire.  

The council will still have the opportunity to review and hear public feedback from Lakeside residents on other development projects as the community continues to grow and change.  

Derbyshire cautioned council members that the process for planning and zoning is a high-wire act that may leave some frustrated as they try to balance community interests with the law. 

“You'll realize that your hands are tied. You are bound by state law and the regulations, and just because you don't necessarily agree with a development doesn't mean you can deny it. It has to be something in the review criteria or in state statute to allow you to deny the application,” Derbyshire explained. “The commissioners look at two things: they look at the public comment, the concerns of the community, but then they also have to ask if it complies with regulations. If it's complying with the regulations, we can't deny someone a use of their property.” 

The Lakeside Community Council meets on the last Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Currently, the council meets in the Lakeside QRU Community Room, although that may change as the council reviews its bylaws. For more information, visit flatheadcounty.gov/department-directory/planning-zoning/meeting-information 

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.