Board OKs chopper landing pad near Whitefish
A helicopter landing pad with a hangar planned along U.S. 93 near Whitefish has won approval from the Flathead County Board of Adjustment.
Tracie Coppedge of East Glacier Holdings, LLC, which listed a Bristol, Tennessee, address on the conditional-use permit application, plans to construct the helicopter pad and hangar on a roughly 10-acre tract that previously was used as a lumber yard by Rocky Mountain Timber Co.
The landing pad at 5560 U.S. 93 S. would be used for the owner’s private use and for commercial use, according to the application. The pad would be used to accommodate a helicopter to fly passengers to events in Flathead County and to the landowner’s ranch in the East Glacier area.
“Flights will avoid Glacier Park International Airport, Kalispell Airport and all flyways,” the applicant stated.
The property is located within the Blanchard Lake Zoning District and is zoned SAG-5, suburban agriculture with a 5-acre minimum lot size. It is within the county’s Highway 93 South Whitefish Overlay zone. However, Coppedge is not proposing new development in the SAG-5 zone, but is proposing a change to commercial development; as such it is not subject to the overlay standards, according to the Planning Office staff report.
The Board of Adjustment held a public hearing May 1 before approving the permit. Board of Adjustment decisions are considered final, and are not forwarded to the county commissioners for approval.
In other business, Scott Ping withdrew his application for a conditional-use permit to establish a camp and retreat center at 650 Walker Meadow Road, off Monegan Road, within the Southeast Rural Whitefish Zoning District. Ping intended to develop a center that would include short-term rentals on about 14 acres zoned SAG-10, suburban agriculture with a 10-acre minimum lot size.
The board held a public hearing on May 1, and Ping withdrew the application following public testimony in opposition to his proposal, according to the Planning Office.
Features Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.