Columbia Falls, county close in on new planning map

In a public hearing marked by one outright objector and two other speakers asking for more territory to the east, Columbia Falls and Flathead County moved a step closer to a new planning and zoning map Monday night.

"Shrinking the jurisdiction will affect (the city) in the long term," Columbia Falls City Manager Bill Shaw said, voicing support for the plan while arguing for the boundary to expand eastward across the Flathead River.

He wants that line to move toward Columbia Heights and about 80 acres of land that Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. owns just north of there.

"What we expect to be high density development at the four corners," where U.S. 2 and Montana 40 meet west of town, Shaw continued, "and what is going to happen at Columbia Heights … will have great effect."

The city hosted county commissioners for a fifth-Monday meeting that gave the public a say on shrinking the city's overall jurisdiction while adding subdivision duties in those boundaries.

No action came after the hearing, but the map will be scheduled as an action item on next Monday's agenda when the City Council meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

That result then goes back to the commissioners, who eventually must strike an agreement with the council before any changes go into effect. They hope to reach an accord before retiring Commissioner Howard Gipe is replaced by newcomer Joe Brenneman in January.

State law requires cities and other planning jurisdictions to have a growth policy in place by Oct. 1, 2006.

This jurisdiction map lays the groundwork for completing that growth policy.

City Manager Shaw was the first to voice an opinion during the hearing. While he favors the overall proposal, he said it does carry some negatives, including planning boundaries that don't include natural city growth areas.

"We are talking about a 20-year planning horizon," Shaw said, "so to chop it off at an arbitrary point because it's a one-mile limit is a negative."

Realtor Bill Dakin also favored the proposed map, but argued for the planning and zoning jurisdiction just east of the river to be restored, at least partially.

The aluminum company's 80 acres there will be kept in an undeveloped park condition as long as the plant remains in operation, CFAC human resources manager Lyle Phillips reassured the gathering.

"I agree with Mr. Shaw," Dakin said. "We should be concerned about restricting the planning jurisdiction to the east. Columbia Heights, as problematic as it is, is probably going to someday be part of Columbia Falls. I don't think the river is a barrier."

Commissioners have maintained that, because of the cost to extend utilities east across the Flathead River, the city is unlikely to grow that direction. They did, however, allow the city to retain jurisdiction on land across the river to the south. City services have not been extended to the south yet.

Later, council member Don Barnhart quizzed commissioners on their rationale, noting that population growth very likely could head east.

"It would make sense to incorporate those areas into our planning area," Barnhart said.

Gipe explained that the closure of the old Red Bridge southwest of the U.S. 2 bridge swayed him and his colleagues to the contrary.

"If the Red Bridge were still there, then the city would have more opportunity to move that way," Gipe said. "But with that gone, they will move more to the west."

He added that the cost of moving east into Columbia Heights would be akin to Kalispell trying to take Evergreen.

Commissioner Gary Hall did not rule out the possibility that a developer could be willing to foot the bill for extending utilities and, thus, the city limits.

"This is a living document, like Forrest said," Hall said of the draft map, which has proposed planning and zoning boundaries shaded in purple. "If a developer goes there, the purple line moves."

Forrest Sanderson, Director of the Flathead County Planning Office, had prefaced Monday evening's hearing with an explanation of the proposed map.

He also offered some assurances about what it would not affect - the state "doughnut bill," the city's building code jurisdiction, and landowners' taxes among them.

In its latest incarnation, the map evidenced the type of compromise the county failed to reach earlier with either Kalispell or Whitefish.

It reduces the city's planning jurisdiction by more than 50 percent, but retains substantial chunks to the west and north. Those are by the Blue Moon, the North Hilltop neighborhood, Meadow Lake Resort, and a large swath up the North Fork Road including city-owned Cedar Creek Reservoir, the CFAC plant site and U.S. Forest Service land.

The compromise also would include subdivision authority outside city limits but within the planning boundary.

Clarence Taber doesn't like it one bit.

He owns and subdivided property just inside city limits on the east side of town, but his own home lies immediately east of the river.

"I don't vote for you council folks. I don't like you regulating me," he said. "I don't trust what you want to do to me. I don't think you need to be on this side of the river at all."

Membership of the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board, which makes recommendations for council action, will not change under the draft proposal. Four members are appointed by the county and live outside city limits but within its planning jurisdiction; four live inside city limits and are appointed by the council. A ninth member is appointed jointly by the county and city.

Outside the city's planning jurisdiction, decisions are governed by the county planning board. All nine of its members live in county territory - currently three from the Somers-Lakeside area, one from Kila, one from Marion, three from the Kalispell area and another from Bigfork.

Taber also claimed the city will "charge me more for water for the privilege of living outside the city."

His land already falls under the zoning and planning review guidelines that would apply if the proposed map takes effect. Fees and taxes are changed only if the landowner opts to connect to city services or if the city formally annexes property.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com