North shore bridge permit in violation

Consideration of a lakeshore permit amendment for a bridge on the north shore of Flathead Lake has been postponed due to an additional violation of the permit.

The Flathead County commissioners last week were scheduled to consider a permit amendment requested by Roger Sortino, whose family owns property on the north shore. But late Tuesday afternoon, county planning office staff noticed that a boundary line adjustment was filed last fall for the Sortino family properties.

Under terms of the initial lakeshore construction permit, the bridge was supposed to provide access from the north shore to Dockstader Island, which is private land owned by the Sortino family. The bridge essentially was crossing from one part of a property to another part of the same property.

But the boundary line adjustment resulted in the bridge crossing two properties.

That results in technical violations of lakeshore protection regulations, such as setback requirements.

Sortino was notified late Tuesday that the “boundary line adjustment last year effectively made the location of the bridge as well as the proposed amended location non-compliant with the regulations,” according to an e-mail explaining the situation from Planning Director B.J. Grieve.

Sortino requested that his permit amendment request be postponed until the boundary adjustment matter can be addressed. The remedy could be as simple as another boundary adjustment to restore property boundaries as they were under the original permit for the bridge.

Then Sortino could pursue the permit amendment that is needed because the partially constructed bridge far exceeds the length of the bridge that was authorized under the original permit.

Sortino was permitted to build a bridge 481 feet long with 76 pilings. The requested amendment would allow a 620-foot-long bridge with 48 pilings.

Some Bigfork area residents have objected to the bridge, calling it an eyesore on the lake.