A year in the planning mill

Chewed up, ground down, burned out

On Dec. 10, 2003, during its last regular meeting of the year, the Flathead County Planning Board held nine public hearings, received a single comment, and dimmed the lights on what had been a busy and productive term.

Then things turned ugly.

In the 12 months since that blissfully easy meeting, the board has been under constant pressure.

Its nine members have experienced an unprecedented surge in development activity, with record numbers of subdivision, zone change and growth policy amendment applications. They've been scolded and reviled by longtime residents and newcomers alike. They've struggled with one controversial project after another and become a focal point for public anxiety over the valley's future.

"I thought May of 2003 was a challenge, when we had to reaffirm a number of decisions [because of an attorney general's ruling]," said Kalispell businessman Don Hines, who served as board president in 2004. "But this year, every month was a challenge."

Hines has lived in the Flathead since 1962. He was appointed to the county board three years ago, prior to which he spent three years on the former Kalispell City-County Planning Board.

Although he's been involved in several contentious issues during his tenure - including the dissolution of the Kalispell board, the breakup of the joint city-county planning relationship and 2003's turmoil over the Glacier Mall proposal - he said none of that rivaled 2004.

"I don't think there's any comparison to the year we just had, in terms of the size, complexity and controversial nature of the issues we've addressed," Hines said.

Almost every month there was something that brought people out in protest: A marina in Lakeside … a high-density project in Bigfork … a subdivision along Helena Flats Road … a zone change next door …

In all, the board held 90 public hearings in 2004, up 20 percent from the year before. A record number of growth policy amendments were submitted, including the largest in the county's history. More than 40 major subdivisions were proposed as well, covering about 2,000 acres and almost 1,000 lots.

To handle the workload, the board scheduled 20 "monthly" meetings - including three each in July and October - plus another dozen or so workshops to try and update the growth policy. The number of people who spoke at public hearings this year swelled by 70 percent, to more than 330. Hundreds more sent in written comments; overflow crowds were routine.

"I was actually looking forward to being involved in a long-range planning process," board member Cal Scott said wistfully. "But we never really got there. We were deluged by one application after another - and we had to deal with them, because all these projects are selling."

Scott graduated from Polson High School in 1961 and later moved to Seattle. He helped the Washington Legislature develop a statewide growth policy in the early 1990s before moving back here four years ago. He was appointed to the board a year ago.

Given the unparalleled amenities the Flathead has to offer, Scott said he thinks the current growth rate will continue for at least another decade - at which point the county will have about 120,000 full-time residents.

"When I came back here in 2000, I remember going to Lone Pine State Park and looking out over the valley," he said. "I thought, 'My God! I'm looking at the same view here that I saw in Seattle's south valley in 1968.' It sent cold chills up my spine."

Scott's reaction to that vision may come as a surprise to those who accuse the board of taking a "damn the neighbors, full speed ahead" approach to growth.

The fact that he and other board members have concerns about unplanned, uncontrolled development, the fact that they second-guess themselves and worry if they made the right decisions, that they take to heart the sometimes anguished testimony they hear - this is a side that doesn't come out during the meetings.

"There are times I've come home almost in tears. I've walked in the door and started screaming," said Kathy Robertson, another returning native who was appointed to the board three years ago.

Robertson was born in Billings and went to Flathead High School for three years before leaving for college. She spent 20 years on planning boards in Michigan before returning to the valley five years ago.

Her experience and familiarity with the planning process is indicative of the Flathead board as a whole: With one exception, everyone on the 2004 board has served at least five years on this and/or other planning boards.

Bigfork contractor Tim Calaway, for example, is beginning his eighth year on the planning board - as well as his 10th year on the Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee.

Several board members estimated they spend anywhere from 10 to 20 hours per week preparing for the meetings, including reading the various application packets and staff reports and visiting the different project sites. This doesn't include innumerable hours of casual encounters and informal conversations, or the time Hines spends as board president making presentations to local business and community groups. It is a part-time job for which they receive no pay and scant thanks.

"It's a huge personal commitment," said Jeff Larsen, a local surveyor who has been on the board for five years, including two as board president.

"I remember when I first got on, we'd have one meeting a month, and sometimes no meeting," he said. "This year's been the worst I've ever seen [in terms of activity levels]. It almost burns you out after a while."

Larsen said people are invariably mad at the board, even when it makes the best decision it can based on the regulations and the information it's presented with. However, he said he also thinks the contentious nature of planning in the Flathead reflects well on its residents.

"It says people here really care for the valley," he said. "All of us want to do the right thing. Some people focus more on the economic aspects of growth, others focus more on the environmental aspects - but we all want what's best for the area."

Larsen said he doesn't think 2005 can possibly be as contentious as 2004, but he doesn't foresee any decrease in activity. In fact, the board already has two meetings scheduled for January.

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