Forum planned today on CF growth

A community forum tonight will give Columbia Falls residents their first close look at the proposed growth policy that could guide development around the city as it expands over the next 20 years.

A community forum tonight will give Columbia Falls residents their first close look at the proposed growth policy that could guide development around the city as it expands over the next 20 years.

It also will give people their first chance to comment on the draft document and maps developed by the Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board the past two years.

The meeting starts at 7 in City Hall. There will be an explanation of the proposal and a time for questions from the public.

The board also will set up a schedule for publicizing the plan over the coming month, before the draft policy is expected to go up for a public hearing on June 21.

If all goes as planned, the growth policy could come before the City Council in July.

The planning board recommends two major urban residential thrusts, west to the Blue Moon Nite Club area and east beyond the Flathead River to Rogers Road, where the U.S. 2 bridge could carry city sewer and water lines.

Areas to the north and south of the city are not viable options in the city's present configuration.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks, Plum Creek facilities and the Vetville community, with its network of private septics and water wells just outside city boundaries, provide barriers to extending city sewer to the north.

The Flathead River lies on the city's southern boundary, with no bridges already in place to carry city utilities across the water.

Tonight's meeting will anchor a week when the public can examine the draft growth policy and maps in council chambers at City Hall. They will be available during business hours through Friday.

Tri-City Planning Office Director Tom Jentz said the planning staff will not be on hand, but that City Manager Bill Shaw should be able to answer questions.

State law requires each city to have a growth policy in place by October 2006.

With a population growth that averaged 17 percent over the 1990s and a 25 percent per decade growth projected over the next 10 years, Columbia Falls is running out of space to accommodate the influx.

Already, there are no more new lots available to buy in the city. All undeveloped lots are platted now, and should take developers only two more years to finish.

Combine the land squeeze with population growth - statisticians expect 6,250 people by 2020 - and city limits will have to give way as new land is annexed into the city.

As of last year, Columbia Falls still is the most affordable place to buy a home in the valley, despite a 197 percent jump in prices since 1990. At $148,000, a median-priced home in Columbia Falls was $21,000 below one in Kalispell, $77,000 below Whitefish and a whopping $90,500 below Bigfork's median of $238,500.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com