Planning move 'stepping backwards'

Whitefish planning withdrawal offers another blow to coordinated planning

At a time when growth is rampant across the Flathead Valley, joint planning efforts may vanish.

The Whitefish City Council on Monday backed a proposal to withdraw from the Tri-City Planning Office, which handles planning activities in Whitefish, Kalispell and Columbia Falls.

The office was formed in 2001 after Flathead County withdrew from a countywide planning office.

If Whitefish formally withdraws in January, it would effectively end more than a quarter-century of joint planning in the valley.

"A two-city office doesn't seem to make much sense," Tri-City Director Tom Jentz said. "This wouldn't mean the end of planning, but coordinated planning would take one more step backwards."

Jentz said the strength of the Tri-City office is its ability to provide a pool of professional planners and specialists who can bring their combined experience to bear on the various planning applications and issues that confront the three cities.

"That's been a highly effective program for 25 years," he said, and it's a reasonably cost-effective one.

Whitefish currently contributes about 22 percent or $93,000 of the office's $424,000 total budget. Kalispell contributes $132,000 and Columbia Falls contributes $25,000; the remaining $173,000 comes from planning application fees.

Unlike Flathead County, which ostensibly withdrew from the old Flathead Regional Development Office to save money (a result that hasn't been realized), Whitefish is looking at about a $50,000 increase in its planning costs to set up its own office, according to figures presented to the council by City Manager Gary Marks.

Kalispell might be able to hire its own staff for about what it spends now. Columbia Falls, however, will likely have to choose between spending more money or getting less for the same amount.

"We benefit from having [the Tri-City's] five professional staff," Columbia Falls City Manager Bill Shaw said. "If this goes through, we couldn't support all the operations of a planning office, and we couldn't afford to hire the staff."

Columbia Falls would probably have to consider some sort of contracted planning service, he said, although he wasn't sure whether that would come from Whitefish, Kalispell or another entity.

The interlocal agreement that established the Tri-City office requires Whitefish to give notice by Jan. 31 if it intends to withdraw. Should it do so, the withdrawal would be effective July 1.

Given that that's the height of the summer construction season, Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy said the transition will have to be well thought out and seamless to avoid any major disruptions.

"We've been preparing for this and discussing it for the last year," Kennedy said. For Kalispell, "it would mean restructuring some departments and hiring our own staff. Maybe we would set up a one-stop shop for our customers, with planning and zoning and the building department all together.

"But it's unfortunate if this [Tri-City split] really happens," she said. "I believe in the principle of having one planning office that knows what's going on. I think that's a benefit for a community this size. If Whitefish leaves, it takes that communication away. That's the biggest impact I see. Maybe we'll need to form some sort of planning advisory council so that we can continue to communicate."

After Flathead County withdrew from the joint planning office in 2001, it withdrew from the joint city-county planning jurisdiction around Kalispell. It has also proposed restructuring the current city-county planning jurisdictions around Whitefish and Columbia Falls, so that cities would handle all planning activities but within a smaller area.

The net result of these changes would be four entirely independent planning jurisdictions. With this latest move by Whitefish, there also could be four separate planning offices.

"What we're seeing across the county is us stepping backwards in cooperation and coordination," Jentz said. "There's a giant void in that area right now. There are fewer and fewer areas where the county and cities actually talk with each other. In terms of long-range planning, that isn't a good thing."

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com