Renewed focus on crafting county growth policy begins in May

After a hiatus of several months, the Flathead County Planning Board is set to resume its efforts to update and revise the county growth policy.

The board plans to hold weekly work sessions starting May 23 to finish the job it started in 2002.

During its regular meeting last week, the board decided it could no longer count on getting outside help to complete the update. Despite already having multiple meetings every month to address the normal planning applications, its members agreed they had to find additional time to focus exclusively on the growth policy.

The board also is concerned that, if it doesn't resume its efforts, it could conceivably be shut out of any further involvement with the update. Some members are afraid that other groups, such as the new Long Range Planning Task Force, might take over the job by default.

By state statute, the planning board is responsible for preparing a growth policy.

Work on the update was suspended last fall after the county agreed to issue a request for qualifications for a growth policy consultant. The idea was that a consultant would take what the planning board had developed over the previous three years and turn it into a document that complied with state statutes.

However, once it became clear that the consultant's role might be greatly reduced due to financial constraints, the board agreed to resume its weekly growth policy work sessions (see related story).

A preliminary work session will be held on May 4. The board will decide at that time how to proceed with the future meetings. For example, each session might focus on a specific topic, such as transportation needs.

The deadline for completing and adopting the update is Oct. 1, 2006.

The current growth policy was adopted in 1987. It's intended to provide an overall land-use vision for the Flathead.

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In related news, a final schedule has been released for a three-day series of informational meetings related to the growth policy.

The meetings, which will begin May 9, are intended to help Collins Planning Associates determine how much of the information that's needed to complete the growth policy update is already available, how much is still needed, and who could provide the necessary data.

Following the three-day visit, Collins will create a "scope of work" document that outlines who needs to do what to finish the growth policy update by next fall.

B.J. Grieve with the Flathead County Planning Office is coordinating the meeting schedule. Following a day of meetings with the county commissioners, the planning board and the Long Range Planning Task Force, there will be two days of theme sessions, as well as a general public meeting.

Each theme session will deal with a specific topic, such as transportation, natural resources or public services. They'll include a round-table discussion between the consultant, specific county officials and other invited representatives; there will also be time for public comment at the end of each session.

A general public meeting will be held on May 10 from 6-10 p.m. at the Kalispell Junior High School gymnasium. Anyone who has anything to say about the growth policy is invited to come and provide testimony.

Local organizations that would like to participate in the round-table discussion for particular sessions can contact Grieve at 751-8200.

All of the meetings are open to the public. Scheduled sessions include:

Monday, May 9

10-11:45 a.m. - Meet with the county commissioners in the commissioners' hearing room.

1-3 p.m. - Meet with the Long Range Planning Task Force in the second-floor conference room at the Earl Bennett Building.

3:15-5:45 p.m. - Meet with the Flathead County Planning Board in the Earl Bennett Building conference room.

7:30-10 p.m. - Meet with representatives from the various neighborhood land-use advisory committees in the Earl Bennett Building conference room.

Tuesday, May 10

8-9:30 a.m. - Transportation theme session, including county road standards, right of way issues, mass transit, bike paths and internal subdivision road standards. Meet in the Flathead County Justice Center basement conference room.

9:45-11:15 a.m. - Public health and community services theme session, including water quality issues, sewer service and septic systems, community health and senior issues. Meet in the Justice Center conference room.

12:45-2:15 p.m. - Mapping/GIS theme session, including maps needed for the growth policy. Meet in the Justice Center conference room.

2:30-3:45 p.m. - Natural resources theme session, including agriculture, silviculture, extractive industries and lake water quality issues. Meet in the Justice Center conference room.

6-10 p.m. - Countywide public meeting to address any issue associated with the growth policy. Meet in the Kalispell Junior High School gymnasium.

Wednesday, May 11

8:30-9:30 a.m. - Education theme session, including providing educational services in rural areas and student housing issues. Meet in the Justice Center conference room.

9:45-11:15 a.m. - Economic development theme session, including creating and sustaining quality jobs, planning for livable communities, and development and real estate in the Flathead. Meet in the Justice Center conference room.

1:15-2:15 p.m. - Emergency Services theme session, including rural fire services, ambulance and medical services, and law enforcement issues. Meet in the second-floor conference room at the Earl Bennett Building.

2:30-3:30 p.m. - Recreation theme session, including parks and parkland issues, national forest issues, and bike path maintenance. Meet in the second-floor conference room at the Earl Bennett Building.

3:45-4:45 p.m. - Zoning, floodplain and lakeshore regulations theme session. Meet in the second-floor conference room at the Earl Bennett Building.

6 p.m. - Meet with the county planning board during the board's regular session to discuss the scope of work document and to provide any concluding remarks. Held in the second-floor conference room at the Earl Bennett Building.