North Fork Compact

The Compact: Background of the 20-Acre Update

Original 5-Acre Minimum

The reason for the original 5-acre minimum was that when the Compact was drafted in the early 1970's, one of our active promoters owned about five acres and of course we wanted him as a member. And at that time, when County restrictions were almost non-existent a subdivision limit of any size was progress in our view. In fact, the Compact was the first zoning effort in Flathead County, so we are told. The word "Zoning" spooked local folks, so much so that when the county began to wake up to the problems of population growth, they employed a blander term: Land Use Planning, with its suggestion of community participation and minimal government interference. A rose by any other name, one could say. . . .

The 1990's & 20-Acre Minimum Proposal

And so we lived with the 5-acre clause until the early 1990's, when our minutes show that there was "a faint shift" among North Fork landowners in favor of planning. The number of North Fork landowners in favor of a 20-acre minimum sale had increased somewhat.

In that climate, we decided to try for a 20-acre minimum and sent out a vote-by-mail.

To pass, the resolution required 75 percent of the eligible votes. It fell short primarily because 8 landowners did not reply. Although most of the votes favored the 20-acre minimum, we fell short of the 75 percent requirement, by three votes.

Important Reminder

The Compact document requires votes to be by acreage. That is, one vote per hundred acres or portion thereof. If you have:

302 acres, you have 4 votes;

110 acres, you have 2 votes;

10 acres, you have one vote;

2 acres, you have one vote.

The result of the 1991 vote was a disappointment to most of us. And it has been a nuisance, too, for the situation requires explanations every year at every meeting. This has now led to the present (2005) effort to resolve the issue once for all, because 5-acre minimum sale is out of step with present Flathead county land use planning law with its requrement of a 20-acre minimum.

In September of 2005, a new set of cards were sent out. After several months the votes were in. This time the 20-acre minimum passed. See the 2006 minutes for details

September 2006.