Opinions differ on Flathead growth policy

By WILLIAM L. SPENCE

Next hearing is Sept. 6

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Planning Board heard a mix of encouraging words and dire predictions on Thursday during a three-hour hearing regarding the draft growth policy.

About 100 people attended the event, the second opportunity this week for people to comment on the draft. More than 200 people attended the earlier hearing.

Unlike the first meeting, which was dominated by property-rights concerns, no single theme prevailed on Thursday. Several speakers suggested that the draft policy trespassed too far on property rights, but others said they couldn't tell what effect it would have because it was so vague.

Many of the 55 people who spoke urged the planning board to stay the course and produce a growth policy that protects the valley from uncontrolled development.

After stepping onto a stool so he could reach the microphone, one young boy said he had been to Florida and California and hoped the Flathead could be spared a similar fate.

"Please, please protect our valley," he said. "We need a growth policy that cares about our quality of life."

Peggy Mathiason, however, was concerned about the uncertain language in the draft. She said it was worded so ambiguously that the county commissioners and planning staff could interpret it any way they liked.

"I really want to see this draft reworked and the vague language removed," she said. "As written, this document represents a blank check. It's impossible to know how it will be used, and the inevitability of abuse is staggering. I don't write blank checks to the government."

Other comments made during Thursday's hearing included:

. Hank Galpin - "Agriculture in the valley has irrevocably changed in the last three or four years. Costs have risen 70 percent, and the price we get for our product hasn't changed.

"I think the valley and its inhabitants should be prepared for some major changes. Agriculture is in crisis, and the county isn't going to be able to change that."

. Edd Blackler - "It's only through careful planning that future generations will be able to enjoy living here, the way we do today. If there are no discernible guidelines for growth, I'm not sure we'll be pleased with the results in 10 or 20 years."

. Russell Johnson - "What you're doing is great. We have to have some guidelines, otherwise developers will start dictating how we grow. They'll leave the area and we'll be stuck with the problems."

. Fred Hodgeboom - "The natural-resource provisions in the plan are a grave concern to me. The mission of local government is to promote the public health, safety and welfare, but this growth policy doesn't promote the [timber] industry that historically has provided the open space and well-paying jobs that have been so important to the quality of life in this valley."

. Ken Kalvig - Said the proposed "development predictability map," which would outline the type and density of projects allowed in different neighborhoods, needs to be completed before the draft policy is approved.

"Without the map, this plan doesn't explain the practical consequences for people who want to develop or rezone their property."

Given that Flathead County is regularly sued by people who quote the 1987 growth policy in their lawsuits, Kalvig also suggested that the planning board review the language in the draft policy with that in mind.

"The contents of this document really matter," he said. "Its words and phrases get cited in lawsuits, so be careful with the words."

. Johna Morrison - Expressed concerns about proposed transportation policies that would encourage commercial development along secondary arterials, rather than along main arterials or highways.

"Businesses have to be where the people are," Morrison said. "If you move them away from the high traffic areas, we lose business."

. Rod McIver - "If we don't shape our future, outside interests will. Like nature, society abhors a vacuum: Where government steps back, developers and corporations will step in."

. Bob Spoklie - "When are we going to start respecting the man in the rural communities whose life is in his property, who has no retirement plan except what's in his land?

"You need to give the rural landowners - the ones whose destiny you're taking into your hands with this document - a major say in what happens with their property."

. Dennis Thornton - "I can't tell from this document what I can do with my property, and it looks like it will be a quagmire trying to figure that out. We need some [land-use] maps that tell landowners what they can do."

. Linda Johnson - "You've been accused of using words that are too strong. You aren't, so keep going. Make it work. We have to find a middle ground."

. Adrienne Maxwell - "I think a lot of the controversy with this document stems from its ambiguity. There needs to be clearer guidelines. Every project shouldn't be a fight. If developers have clear rules, they'll follow them. We don't need more rules, but clearer ones."

. Denise Cofer - "I fully understand the need for a document such as this, but as proposed it's unacceptable. It puts too many constraints on private land."

The Flathead already has a huge amount of public land, Cofer said, which leaves relatively little private land available for future development. Consequently, "open space may not be an appropriate topic for the growth policy. If there's too much emphasis on open space, we risk losing our tax base."

. Harry Brown - Compared the Flathead Valley with Camelot, the legendary castle where King Arthur ruled.

"I ask you to help preserve the Camelot we have here. Please don't make my children and grandchildren have to run away and tell others what we once had."

Based on the comments provided during this week's hearings, as well as written comments submitted since the draft growth policy was released June 30, the Flathead County Planning Office staff will suggest ways to change the draft to address various concerns.

The planning board will hold a public hearing on Sept. 6 to take comments on those proposed changes. A series of workshops will then be held, after which the board will offer a formal recommendation to the county commissioners.

If the commissioners are willing to adopt the policy, they'll pass a resolution of intent. That would trigger a 30-day written comment period, after which final action could be taken.

Reporter William Spence can be reached at 758-4459 or e-mail bspence@dailyinterlake.com