The Daily Inter Lake

Growth policy advances

The Flathead County Planning Board unanimously recommended approval of the revised growth policy Monday.

The hour-long meeting offered a brief finale to what has been an exhaustive, four-year process. Several board members started working on a growth policy in the fall of 2002. Just in the past several months, all nine members have sat through dozens of meetings, workshops and public hearings, and reviewed hundreds of pages of public testimony.

"I'd like to thank the planning staff and everyone else who spent so much time on this," said board chairman Jeff Larsen. "I know not everyone got exactly what they wanted, but that's the process. I think this is a huge accomplishment for Flathead County."

Gordon Cross, who proposed numerous thoughtful changes to the initial draft, reminded people that the growth policy will be a "living" document - one that can and should be changed over time.

"The message needs to be that this isn't set in stone," he said. "We're going to have an initial amendment seven months after the policy is adopted. After we test drive it, we want people to bring us suggestions about things that need to be changed. Tonight isn't the final step in the process."

Only about 20 people showed up for the special meeting. Attendance may have been affected by the fog, which made it difficult to find the unusual meeting location. (The meeting was held in the county building maintenance shop - the only county meeting space available.)

Although the meeting wasn't a formal public hearing, eight people spoke during a general public comment period at the beginning of the session. Several commended the board members for the amount of time they've put in and the changes they made. Others thought some things should be reconsidered, or that a few additional modifications were needed.

The revised growth policy now goes to the county commissioners for their consideration. They aren't expected to take up the matter until next month, after newly elected Commissioner Dale Lauman comes on board.

After making whatever changes they see fit, the commissioners will consider a resolution of intent to adopt the growth policy. If the resolution is approved, it kicks off a 30-day written comment period, after which final action can be taken.

The growth policy will serve as the county's fundamental planning document, providing a foundation for the subdivision and zoning regulations and offering guidance on how the valley should develop.