Tag Archives: extractive industries

North Fork gravel pit limits rejected again

This is actually a pretty good article from today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

A zoning proposal to limit the size of extractive industries on private land in the North Fork has failed for a second time to win approval from the Flathead County commissioners.

A motion made on Wednesday by Commissioner Joe Brenneman to approve a zoning text amendment to limit sand and gravel operations and other extractive industries to five acres and 20,000 tons annually failed for lack of a second.

Brenneman made the same motion in October, but that also died for lack of a second.

Continue reading . . .

County backs away from North Fork gravel pit limits

Despite broad-based support from North Fork residents and landowners, the Flathead County Commissioners decided not to decide on a zoning amendment that would restrict the size of “extractive industries” (gravel pits, basically) in the North Fork.

The Daily Inter Lake has a good write-up, including a fair bit of background information . . .

A zoning proposal to limit the size of extractive industries on private land in the North Fork failed to win approval Tuesday from the Flathead County commissioners.

A motion by commissioner Joe Brenneman to approve a zoning text amendment to limit sand and gravel operations and other extractive industries to five acres and 20,000 tons annually failed for lack of a second.

The commissioners left the door open, though, by deciding to take the proposal under advisement and deal with it again “within a reasonable length of time.”

Read the full article . . .

County commissioners to consider North Fork gravel pit zoning

The Flathead County Commissioners will consider a zoning change for the North Fork District this Tuesday concerning “extractive industries.” For the North Fork, this amounts to regulating the size of gravel pit operations.

The proposed zoning regulation would limit gravel operations on private land (the county has no jurisdiction over the feds) to five acres in size or an annual production of 20,000 tons of material. The zoning change falls under conditional uses, meaning a review is necessary before any gravel pit could be established.

The County Commission hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 19, at 10:30 a.m. at the Commissioner’s offices at 800 S. Main Street in Kalispell. North Fork residents and land owners unable to attend the meeting can make their voices heard by emailing the commissioners prior to the meeting: Joe Brenneman (jbrenneman@flathead.mt.gov), Jim Dupont (jdupont@flathead.mt.gov), Dale Lauman (dlauman@flathead.mt.gov).

Flathead County Planning Board recommends extraction limits in North Fork

From today’s Daily Inter Lake . . .

The Flathead County Planning Board last week recommended limiting the size of extractive industries in the North Fork, but took pains to disassociate itself from a much-publicized memorandum of understanding between Gov. Brian Schweitzer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

That memorandum, signed earlier this year, calls for a ban on mining in the North Fork of the Flathead River in the United States and Canada.

Current county regulations require extractive industries in the North Fork Zoning District be of a “small scale,” but it is undefined and has not been implemented.

The board’s recommendation, which will be considered by the county commissioners, would limit extractive industries to five acres in size and allow no more than 20,000 tons of material to be removed each year. Those limits parallel limits set out in the Canadian-U.S. agreement.

Read the full article . . .