Zoning committee seeks public input

By ALEX STRICKLAND

Bigfork Eagle

In an effort to further discussion about creating new a zoning district, the North Lake County Zoning subcommittee talked Friday about organizing sub-units to foster public input.

The units - at this stage, anyway - would have no bearing on zoning regulations down the road. They would be designed only to help gather more specific focus groups of community members to talk about their concerns and feelings. The subcommittee hosted a series of public meetings in June and July to gather input.

"We need to bring more people into the process," subcommittee chair Leslie Budewitz said. "At this point we're looking at sub-units as a streamlining tool for public involvement."

The proposed sub-units would be the Swan lake shore, which includes Swan Sites, West Cedar Bay and Lower Bug Creek; Woods Bay; South Ferndale and Crane Mountain; and Meadow Creek, which encompasses the area east of Highway 83.

The committee proposed the creation of sub-units because the prospective land use varies so greatly across the topography and concerns could vary accordingly. The group is in the process of trying to establish groups to identify existing property uses and determine possible future land use.

Lake County planner Sue Shannon was at the Bigfork meeting to help guide the information gathering process and provide input from her office.

The subcommittee meets on the first and third Fridays of each month at 9 a.m. at the Saddlehorn in Bigfork.