The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee received positive feedback on its Bigfork Neighborhood Plan updates from the Flathead County Planning Board at a workshop last week.  

“I think it’s a great update and clean,” said board member Marie Hickey-AuClaire.  “I thought it was great, so definitely keep pursuing it.” 

The workshop marked the next phase of BLUAC’s multi-year overhaul of the Bigfork Neighborhood Plan, the guiding document for the future of the Bigfork area that is referenced by county planners when voting on development decisions, like zoning changes and subdivision approvals. The neighborhood plan was last updated in 2009.  

BLUAC, a seven-member board established in 1993, acts in an advisory capacity for Flathead County land use decision making boards on matters within the Bigfork Zoning District. Since Bigfork is unincorporated, the county makes planning decisions that would normally fall on city governments, and BLUAC serves as a liaison between residents of Bigfork and the county. 

The planning board references the Bigfork Neighborhood Plan when considering applications for the Bigfork area, such as zone change requests and subdivision approvals. The plan’s focus is to ensure Bigfork’s is sustainable and aligns with the capacity for services such water, sewer, fire and ambulance.  

Unincorporated communities like Bigfork submit neighborhood plans to the planning board to demonstrate a community’s vision of how they intend to grow in the future.  

For more than a year now, committee members have been tackling revisions to individual sections in the plan, which include topics like population, transportation and housing.  

BLUAC is seeking input from the planning board before presenting the revised neighborhood plan to the residents for public comment.  

“First, we wanted to update all of the information, and make any changes like I have done, and then bring it to you as the planning board to see if we were on track with the changes that we are suggesting that are made,” said former BLUAC member Chany Ockert. “From here, this will be combined, and then more extensive public comment will be sought from the Bigfork community before we bring this back to you.” 

At the June 10 planning board meeting, Ockert presented revisions made to part six of the plan, “Local and Social Services.” In the revision, Ockert more clearly differentiated between government and nonprofit services.  

“The second major change is that I removed the names of all of the nonprofits and instead included the mission area,” Ockert continued. “There's a very important reason for that, and that is that if a nonprofit closes, then the assets by law must remain in that mission area serving Bigfork. So, I'm going to give you a very ridiculous example that is not going to happen, but let's just say that Bigfork Food Bank were to close — all of the assets would have to remain for a food bank in Bigfork, so no matter what happens in the future, the mission area still has to stay the same. So that's the reason why I've taken out all of the names of all of the nonprofits in this particular section.” 

Ockert also removed a section detailing the need for an arts and cultural center, since that need was fulfilled with the revitalization of the Bigfork Art and Cultural Center, but retained a paragraph focused on creating a community center.  

BLUAC meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. in the basement of Bethany Lutheran Church. The next meeting is June 18, and the group will be reviewing the “Land Use and Natural Resources” section. The committee members invite public input and participation as they continue to update the neighborhood plan.  

More information about BLUAC can be found at bigfork.org/bigfork-at-a-glance/bluac/ 

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.