West Glacier Vision Plan goes in front of commissioners next week

A few years in the making, the West Glacier Vision Plan will go before Flathead County Commissioners on Nov. 22 for final approval.

The plan is a significant step toward crafting a future look of the community, which also hosts the busiest entrance to Glacier National Park.

The community vision statement perhaps, sums it up best.

“West Glacier envisions their community as a place where recreation, healthy lifestyles, and sustainable development converge to provide a high quality of life, while retaining unique historic character, habitat, and abundant natural scenic beauty,” it states.

But keeping it that way could prove challenging

For example, the community has changed greatly over the years. Once people called West Glacier their year-round home.

Today, it is estimated that “perhaps 20% of the housing stock is owned by full-time residents,” the plan notes. “Consistent with other intermountain west communities, there are increasing numbers of second homeowners who, upon retirement, become part- time residents. According to Air DNA, West Glacier’s zip code area has 63 homes that are rented out through Airbnb and VRBO.”

The plan is not a regulatory document, but it does suggest amending current zoning to bring it up to modern-day standards and to address some of the problems with the current Canyon Land Use Regulatory System, which is the zoning regulations for the area.

CALURS was crafted in the mid-1990s. Since then, visitation to Glacier Park has skyrocketed to more than 3 million annually, from about 1.5 to 2 million in the 1990s and early 2000s.

In addition, many businesses have gone from family-owned outfits to corporate run entities.

Pursuit, (formerly Glacier Park Inc.) for example, bought the Lundgren family holdings in West Glacier in 2014; the Belton Chalet in 2019 and the Glacier Raft Co and Outdoor Center earlier this year. The company also built a large campground on Riverbend Drive.

Still, the plan notes the company is committed to a “historic rural sense of place.”

According to a 2018 company report, it served about 138,000 guests in its businesses.

While most businesses in the area cater to the tourists, workforce housing has become an issue.

“A shortage of workforce housing impacts both the economic sustainability and culture of the community,” the plan notes.

As such, the county through local planning efforts, recently amended the zoning to allow for “work camps” that look to specifically build for workforce housing.

Adding to the complexity, the community is wedged between a railroad, a Wild and Scenic River, Glacier National Park and the Flathead National Forest.

“The plan is important because it takes the Canyon Plan’s next steps translating the community and stakeholder shared values into the future,” Mary McClelland, one of the community leaders who spearheaded the effort said. “It has helped identify and define the characteristics, ideas and goals in the midst of increased visitation and growth challenges.  The unincorporated area is especially vulnerable to these pressures on the doorstep of the park. The Vision Plan has helped develop a consensus on where we are and where we want to be while providing the framework for opportunities to get there. It is community driven and focuses on collaborative efforts to preserve the common core values. To achieve these goals, stakeholders and community members can form working groups and organize efforts around the most pressing action areas of the times- working with adjacent land managers to provide for visitors and support land managers in managing visitors.”

The plan looks to get some real work done. Some of the plan’s vision has already started. For example, the community has already started sprucing up the railroad underpass with landscaping and native plants and flowers.

The plan also calls for completion of Gateway to Glacier Trail, which is a bike path from West Glacier to Columbia Falls. Most of it is done, but there are sections that utilize rural roads.

Community planning leaders have also been in discussion with the Montana Department of Transportation on a traffic light for the intersection of Highway 2 and the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The “Main Street” through West Glacier is currently the Sun Road, the plan suggests the name through town be changed.

The plan also looks to preserve the aesthetics of the community.

“The community should protect wildlife, habitat, connectivity corridors, and scenic vistas. When development occurs, it should be sized, located, and designed to avoid or limit impacts to wildlife and the natural environment,” it notes.

On the wildlife side, traffic and wildlife deaths are a concern. The plan calls for perhaps adopting wildlife control measures along the highway such as what is done along Highway 93 through the Salish and Kooteni Tribe lands.

Glacier Park and U.S. Geological Survey biologists have already started examining where roadkills are occurring and where wildlife crossings would be appropriate.

Another aspect of the planning is climate change and wildfire response. West Glacier has already come close to being a wildfire casualty when huge fires swept through the park and forest in 2003. That same thing could happen again.

The plan notes the work of Monica Jungster, owner of the Montana House, to spearhead efforts to host classes on being a Firewise community, while working with state, local and federal officials.

Recreation is another big aspect of the plan, with an emphasis on recreational opportunities that are light on the land and sustainable.

It notes that most people enjoy non-motorized recreation and it supports a trail network that connects the area with trails that run from Columbia Falls to Kalispell and Whitefish.

The plan also recognizes and respects property rights, McClelland notes.

“Any regulatory changes still proceed through the Middle Canyon Land Use and Flathead County Planning processes in compliance with the County Growth Policy.  This plan respects all rights to private property and encourages voluntary participation of residents, businesses, and stakeholders to address issues of interest and concern,” she said.