An application to open a gravel pit on Farm to Market Road was sent back to the West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee on Tuesday night.  

Dozens of attendees packed the Oct. 6 Flathead County Board of Adjustment meeting with members of the audience spilling over into an adjoining hallway. Many came to comment on a conditional-use permit application submitted by Bruce Tutvedt, a former state senator, to extract gravel on his 160-acre property at 3740 Farm to Market Road.  

But the Board of Adjustment tabled the application barely 10 minutes in and sent it back to the West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee for a public hearing. Board members said they needed more time to review the 256-plus pages of comments they received from the public.  

"Not one of us board members has had the opportunity to review this," said board member Roger Noble.  

He said that one major complaint from the public was the lost opportunity to comment on the project before the West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee. Its Sept. 22 public hearing was canceled due to a lack of quorum.  

"We take those advisory committee findings quite seriously," Noble said.  

West Valley residents have mobilized over the last week to protest the permit Tutvedt applied for on behalf of LHC, Inc., a Kalispell-based asphalt and mixed concrete supply company. Plans include mobile asphalt and concrete-batch plants, stockpiling material and mining the entire property in 40-acre phases. 

Board members agreed to coordinate a special meeting with the committee on the permit application given the level of public interest. Concerns from West Valley residents on the proposed gravel pit include potential water and air pollution, traffic congestion, the safety of children and animals, and diminished property values.  

"We don't want to go through and just rubber stamp something," Chair Calvin Dyck said. "We wanna make sure we do this right." 

The board's motion was met with a burst of applause from attendees. West Valley resident Ehren Hart said he's glad the board listened to the community's concerns.  

The Board of Adjustment is expected to discuss the conditional-use permit at its next meeting in December. 

Report for America Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 406-758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.