North Lake county planning efforts continue

The North Lake County Planning and Zoning Committee is a volunteer organization developed with the purpose of generating a community oriented set of regulations to help guide development in North Lake County.  The committee is composed of volunteers from Montana Department of Natural Resources, Plum Creek Timber Company, and Stoltze Land and Lumber Company. Organized in 2006 under the Bigfork Steering Committee, the committee began coordination directly with Lake County Planning Department in 2009, and since has been an independent committee. The committee has developed a draft set of regulations and advisory board bylaws. Both have been delivered for review to Lake County planning.  Since 2012 the committee has worked with the planning department on the development of a map to accompany the regulations. The committee has conducted more than 10 community meetings since 2006 in Ferndale, Swan Lake, Bigfork and Woods Bay. There have been more than 60 newspaper articles and notices of monthly meetings.  In April 2009 the committee reached out to the community with a written survey contacting more than 1,500 respondents within the planning area.  The committee intends to fulfill a promise for a final community meeting on the draft regulations, and will do so as soon as the Lake County Planning Department is able to provide a detailed map of the area. For information go to bigforksteering.org or call 837-1102.

— Paul J. Rana, North Lake County Planning and Zoning Committee