County amends permit to allow longer bridge

The permit for a bridge from property on Holt drive to Dockstader Island was recently amended to add an additional 58 feet to the length of the structure.

The Community Association for North Shore Conservation learned last week that the structure was reported to be 541 feet long. The permit for the bridge was for 481 feet.

Association chair Dave Hadden said he learned Monday that on March 16 the county granted an amendment to the permit allowing for an additional 28 feet on the south end of the structure and 30 feet on the north end.

The Community Association for North Shore Conservation currently has a legal complaint before the Flathead County District Court alleging that roads and driveways are not permitted to cross the lakeshore protection zone, and that the permit issued for the structure was never valid. “We are dismayed by the revelation of the permit amendment,” Hadden said. “The court has not yet set a hearing date, and yet the County Commissioners have granted an even larger bridge structure with non-public notice or comment.”

Hadden’s group is involved in litigation against Flathead County for issuing the original bridge permit. They contend that the county didn’t follow the proper procedures when they issued the permit in 2011, because the permit application did not receive public review. The county has granted four extensions to the permit. 

The bridge is nearing completion, and Hadden said according to documents filed with the district court the developer plans to pour a concrete topping and side berms on the bridge during the first week of May.

“If the developer completes this final step, it will make the resulting structure much more difficult and expensive to remove in the event that the court agrees that the permit for the bridge was never valid,” Hadden said.