Whitefish approves drainage ordinance

The Whitefish City Council on Monday moved forward with regulations that will dictate development in critical drainage areas.

By passing its second drainage-related emergency ordinance within the past year, the council now has the regulatory teeth it needs to assure protection of natural drainage ways that are not protected by easements but are vital to stormwater management. The ordinance also protects environmentally critical areas such as rivers, streams, wetlands and steep slopes, and spells out requirements for groundwater monitoring in drainage-challenged areas.

In July the council adopted its first emergency ordinance, putting development on hold in sensitive drainage areas until a stormwater master plan could be completed. That plan was approved in March.

The latest emergency ordinance puts interim regulations in place immediately, allowing engineering to proceed on projects that were delayed by the first emergency ordinance, Whitefish Planning Director Bob Horne said.

Not everyone jumped on the drainage bandwagon, however. Tina Lawrence, developer of the expansive Bridgewater Trails subdivision off Voerman Road, suggested the interim regulations needed further study.

"I don't think this document is ready," Lawrence said. "The control issue is pretty tight, and it drives our costs up. Are you ready for the liability if this decision-making process is even one bit flawed?"

Ray Coffey, who owns a lawn-care business, questioned a regulation that prohibits fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and other chemicals within stormwater drainage ways. Coffey said he didn't oppose the intent of the ordinance but maintained the Montana Pesticide Act "pretty much covers everything we do."

Dennis Bee also questioned the ban on fertilizer in stormwater drainages, saying that outlying farms use fertilizer. State law allows the emergency ordinance to extend just one mile outside city limits, not the full two-mile planning area that recently was imposed.

The new regulations establish protection zones in several critical areas on the Whitefish River, local creeks and wetlands. Slopes in excess of 30 percent are now in protection zones.