County aims for 'road map' for growth
Consultants try to divine how to shape county growth policy
A pair of consultants hired to help Flathead County update its growth policy received a blunt assessment Monday regarding some of the land-use concerns and growth-related challenges facing this area.
Bill Collins with Collins Planning Associates and Lane Kendig with Lane Kendig Inc. will be in the valley through Wednesday.
The purpose of their visit is to identify what issues the growth policy should pay special attention to, and to evaluate what type of resources are available to complete the update. The outcome of their visit will be a "road map" that details how the county should proceed to finish the document - which will serve as the community's fundamental planning vision for the foreseeable future - by the statutory deadline of Oct. 1, 2006.
The consultants met with the county commissioners for 90 minutes on Monday morning, followed by lengthy afternoon sessions with the Long-Range Planning Task Force and the Flathead County Planning Board.
Throughout the day, they heard calls for a more balanced and predictable planning process - one that lets people know what type of development can and can't occur in their neighborhoods - and for a process that addresses the cumulative, valleywide impacts of growth.
However, they also were cautioned that the average citizen here might not support excessive regulation or overly restrictive planning.
"I have an issue with the 'smart growth' agenda, which has become known here for being obstructionist and no-growth," Commissioner Gary Hall said. "I believe in intelligent growth. I don't want a growth policy that's so complicated and filled with detail that it keeps us from doing
good projects, but I also don't want a bunch of fluff that lets people do pretty much anything they want."
Commissioner Joe Brenneman agreed, saying he wants a growth policy that most people in the valley could approve.
"Frequently, it's the people on the edges who are setting the [planning] agenda," he noted. "I'd encourage you to figure out how to reach the people in the middle."
While the growth policy will address a long list of statutory criteria, Kendig recommended that the various parties involved in crafting the document focus most of their efforts on a critical handful of issues.
"From my perspective, I think most communities have three to five issues that aren't getting resolved, that get debated every time a project comes before the planning board or the commissioners," he said. "If you give us some guidance about what those issues are here, it will probably help define the middle ground."
Brenneman cited water quality and quality-of-life issues, as well as maintaining traditional natural resource employment opportunities and traditional recreational opportunities. He also noted that property rights, as outlined in the U.S. and Montana constitutions, must remain inviolate.
Based on the frequent complaints about the county's dusty gravel roads, Commissioner Bob Watne added air quality to the list.
Hall cited affordable housing and transportation/water/sewer infrastructure issues, as well as concerns about how the county can pay for growth-related impacts.
"One of the big things we've missed out on is the ability to get help from developers in the form of impact fees," he said. "It's been heart-breaking to me to see developers make millions from subdivisions without helping out with road improvements [or other impacts]. I make no apology for being in favor of impact fees. It's time."
Kendig and Collins heard similar comments during their meetings with the long-range task force and planning board.
Task force chairman Jerry Nix, a former commercial developer, contrasted what he described as the county's historically developer-friendly approach to growth with its more recent "pro-planning" outlook.
"I'd like to put forward the premise that the county is coming from the Dark Ages into the new world," Nix said. "I hope you [the consultants] will find a way to bring us from a pure property rights perspective to a more balanced perspective. I hope you'll show us how a pro-planning approach can bring about balanced development in the valley."
Kendig said the "fringe element who wants a 100-percent win for their world" will always be upset with a planning document based on community consensus.
Given the complexity of the issues that need to be addressed, he encouraged the commissioners to "pay attention" to the growth policy debate. Rather than simply hand responsibility for the document to some other group, he said they should stay involved, so when it comes time to hold public hearings on the final version, they understand the history of why certain items were included and how particular compromises were reached.
"It would also help if, when people call you to talk about these issues, you tell them to participate in the process," Kendig said. "Tell them you aren't going to listen if they don't participate."
Kendig and Collins will spend today and Wednesday meeting with various officials and interest groups in several "theme" sessions dealing with specific topics, such as transportation, natural resources and economic development.
A general, countywide public meeting also will be held tonight (see box for details).
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Public meeting tonight
Anyone who has any comments or concerns about the Flathead County growth policy update is invited to a general public hearing tonight.
The purpose is to help identify what issues should be addressed by the document - which will serve as the county's fundamental planning vision for years to come - as well as which items deserve special attention.
The hearing takes place at the Kalispell Junior High School gymnasium from 6-10 p.m.
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Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com