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County planners warn administrative strain as citizen‑initiated zoning proposals rise
Summary
Flathead County planning staff told participants that multiple bespoke, citizen‑initiated zoning districts (part‑1 style) would create major administrative burdens; staff recommend part‑2 zoning for consistency and said the county lacks capacity to administer many part‑1 districts without adding planners.
Flathead County’s planning director, Eric Mack, told attendees that the county prefers part‑2 zoning because it uses consistent definitions and standards across many districts, which makes administration simpler. “Part 2 would be definitely easier because … once you know the definitions, you know the definitions for 90%–95% of the zoning in Flathead County,” Mack said.
Mack warned that numerous bespoke part‑1 districts — each with unique regulations, definitions and processes — would increase staff workload and require more planners. “Having 6 of those, I could see how that would be problematic,” he said, noting the county currently has four planners plus the director and a roughly 9.8 FTE planning office including code compliance and front‑office staff.
The county manages specialized regulatory systems in a few places (Egan Slough’s part‑1 rules and the Canyon Area regulations for West Glacier/Essex). For most land‑use matters, Mack said the county’s zoning code provides conditional use and variance standards and uniform administrative procedures, which reduces complexity compared with many distinct citizen‑created districts.
Mack also described the day‑to‑day workload: conditional and administrative conditional uses occupy much staff time; short‑term rental reviews fell from about 100 a year (2020–2022) to roughly 50 this year. He estimated that less than 20% of county land is in a zoning district — “maybe 10 to 15%,” he said — concentrated around Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish and lake communities.
No formal motion to create new zoning districts was made during the session. Mack encouraged communities to work with planning staff and advisory committees early in the process to reduce the risk that a proposed zoning will fail planning‑board review.
