County takes jurisdiction of Whitefish Lake

The Flathead County commissioners last week finalized the transfer of jurisdiction for Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes to county control.

Following two public hearings that drew no public comment, the commissioners unanimously voted to amend county lakeshore regulations to add the two lakes. They also voted to rescind the separate lakeshore regulations that were used for Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes prior to the 2005 city-county interlocal agreement that gave Whitefish planning control of the two lakes.

Flathead County is assuming jurisdiction of the two lakes because a Montana Supreme Court ruling last year ceded planning control from the city of Whitefish to the county following a long-running legal battle over control of the “doughnut” area outside Whitefish.

The biggest change for property owners on Whitefish Lake will be an extra layer of bureaucracy when obtaining a lakeshore permit.

The city of Whitefish annexed the lake bed to the low-water mark in 2005 and continues to have planning control of that area. That means property owners wanting to install a dock, for example, will need two permits — a county permit for the gangway and a city permit for the dock itself, Planning Director BJ Grieve said.

“We’ve discussed myriad scenarios to avoid this,” Grieve said, explaining a one-permit procedure is unworkable unless there is an interlocal agreement between the two government bodies.

“It’s just like standing at the city limits and wanting to build a house half in the city and half in the county,” he further explained.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell said he wanted to go on the record saying he’s sorry lake property owners will have to get two permits for lakeshore work.

“It seems convoluted,” he said.

The text amendment absorbing Whitefish and Lost Coon lakes also sets elevation values for the two lakes, effective immediately.

Lost Coon Lake’s mean annual high-water elevation will be listed as 3,104 feet. Whitefish Lake’s low-water mark is 2,996.44 feet.

The mean annual high-water elevation for Whitefish Lake has been established at 3,000.63 feet.