Draft Documents

The Planning Board and Planning Staff have been working on text amendments to the Canyon Land Use Regulatory System (CALURS). Many of the proposed changes are to bring the CALURS into compliance with the changes made in the MCA during the 2025 legislative sessions. The file will be heard at the September 10, 2025 Planning Board Meeting.

Proposed changes made regarding legislative updates include Project Specific Performance Standards for RV Parks and Definitions. 

Draft CALURS Text Amendment

The Planning Board and Planning Staff have been working on text amendments to the Flathead County Zoning Regulations (FCZR). Many of the proposed changes are to bring the FCZR into compliance with the changes made in the MCA during the 2023 and 2025 legislative sessions. Other changes have been discussed at multiple Planning Board Workshops dating back to the Fall of 2023.

The file was heard at the August 13th Planning Board meeting. Prior to the motion regarding the recommendation to the County Commissioners, the Planning Board discussed the public comments regarding the proposed split of the LS Lakeside district into LSR Lakeside Residential and LSC Lakeside Commercial. The Planning Board will hold a public workshop at a later date to discuss the proposed changes to LS Lakeside. The draft amendments have been updated to reflect this recommendation. 

Draft Amendments

• Chapter 2 - Administration
• Chapter 3 - Establishment and Definitions of Districts (w/out LSR and LSC)
• Chapter 4 - Conditional Use Standards
• Chapter 5 - Performance Standards
• Chapter 8- Definitions (w/out LSR and LSC)

Proposed changes made regarding legislative updates include allowing for a manufactured home in zones that currently allow for a single-family dwelling. Updating and adding definitions related to manufactured homes, mobile homes, factory-built housing, and tiny dwelling units [76-2-202 MCA and SB 252 69th (Legislative Session)] is also required to comply with the latest MCA changes.

Chapter 2 updates are proposed to bring the regulations into compliance with MCA,  [Section 76-1-106,  SB 532, SB 175 (69th Legislative Session), and HB 246 (68th Legislative Session)].

SB 174 (69th Legislative Session) removes RV, manufactured home, and mobile home parks from subdivision review; as such, in zoned areas of the County, only conditional use permits will be required. Chapters 4 and 5 are being updated to add the existing RV, manufactured home, and mobile home parks standards from the subdivision regulations. In unzoned areas, buildings for lease or rent review would be required. This will require a subsequent update to the subdivision regulations and the buildings for lease or rent regulations.

SB 532 requires zones with single-family dwellings to allow for an accessory dwelling unit (ADU). This text amendment would add ADUs to zones where it is not currently allowed and make ADUs permitted uses in zones where it is currently an administrative conditional use permit. Adding ADU as a permitted use but requiring site plan review would comply with this bill and still allow staff to review the placement of ADUs in these zones. This amendment would add criteria for administrative site plan review.

The proposal removes the home-based business definition from a few zoning use districts in Chapter 3 and places the definition in Chapter 8. The proposal removes some definitions in zoning use districts already defined in Chapter 8. 

Other proposed changes include splitting the Lakeside zoning use district into Lakeside Residential and Lakeside Commercial districts. And moving family hardship dwelling, temporary building, structure or use, farm/ranch/caretaker/employee housing, and guest house from permitted uses to administrative conditional uses in the West Valley zone.

Previous Draft Amendments

• Chapter 2 - Administration_1st
• Chapter 2 - Administration with Site Plan_1st
• Chapter 3 - Establishment and Definitions of Districts_1st
• Chapter 3 - Establishment and Definitions of Districts_2nd  (numbering correction)
• Chapter 3 - Establishment and Definitions of Districts_ 3rd
• Chapter 4 - Conditional Use Standards_1st
• Chapter 5 - Performance Standards_1st
• Chapter 5 - Performance Standards_2nd (with access requirements)
• Chapter 8- Definitions_1st
• Chapter 8- Definitions_2nd

This Proposal Has Been Tabled Pending a Workshop

• Proposed Zoning Change
• Proposed Zoning Change Map
• Current Lakeside Zoning