County scraps plan for Whitefish planning area

The Daily Inter Lake

A proposed agreement over planning boundaries between Flathead County and the city of Whitefish went off the rails Tuesday morning when, on a 2-1 vote, commissioners effectively killed the deal.

The proposal would have reduced Whitefish's planning jurisdiction to two miles outside the city limits, down from 4.5 miles, while giving the city control over zoning and subdivisions in that smaller area.

The agreement emerged after lengthy negotiations between city and county officials and had already gained approval from the Whitefish City Council.

On Tuesday, however, commissioners Howard Gipe and Bob Watne voted against setting a public hearing on the plan, citing opposition voiced at another hearing months ago.

At that hearing, Gipe said, "it was obvious the people in this jurisdiction want nothing to do with Whitefish. I just fully don't support it."

Watne agreed.

Commissioner Gary Hall, who worked closely with Whitefish on the issue, stormed out of Tuesday's meeting after casting his vote in favor of the public hearing.

"All the work I have done with Whitefish … has gone out the window. It's over," Hall said in a later interview.

He said the vote didn't come as a complete surprise: "I was so concerned this might happen, and so hopeful it wouldn't."

Whitefish officials will probably try to meet with Gipe in the next few days to see if the proposal can be salvaged, city attorney John Phelps said.

"There's no game plan yet, because we haven't really had a chance to meet," said Phelps, adding that he wasn't sure if all city leaders had even been informed about the vote yet. "They were very patient with us, and we can take some time to talk to them and see if we can find some common ground."

Gipe, however, indicated on Tuesday that he was done with the issue: "As far as I'm concerned, [the planning jurisdiction] is back to the city limits."

The scuttling of the proposal means the county and city will continue to share responsibility in the 4.5-mile zone around Whitefish, which will continue to be subject to county, not city, planning standards.

Tuesday's vote added a sharp twist to a discussion that's gone on since at least January 2001. County planning director Forrest Sanderson said that's when he first broached the subject.

It represented a way to ease relations between the county and cities on planning issues while reducing county planning costs and allowing greater city involvement in growth on its borders.

That's important, said Hall, a former Columbia Falls mayor, since that development is likely to become part of the city at some point.

"I understand the need to have some say in what your city's going to look like as you annex," he said.

Gipe, however, said he didn't think people should be subject to municipal rules if they aren't able to vote in city elections. That concern has come up repeatedly.

The idea of allowing county residents within a city's planning jurisdiction to vote in city elections has been discussed - but that would require action by the Legislature and is considered unlikely.

Gipe also said Whitefish leaders had "dillydallied" on the issue for years instead of accepting the offer straight away.

"I think they've played games with us," he said.

Whitefish councilman Erik Garberg, however, said the city should feel played with.

He acknowledged that commissioners were "lambasted" about the proposal at a December hearing, but said the county shouldn't have kept the issue alive if that hearing sealed the debate.

"We were reacting to a proposal they brought to us," Garberg said. "I can't believe we've gone through all this now, almost a year later, using all this time and city and county resources.

"I'm disappointed. I thought we were working in an open and honest process. I'm surprised, too."

Reporter Alan Choate may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at achoate@dailyinterlake.com