Adoption of draft subdivision rules delayed

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County commissioners will not take action Monday on the draft subdivision regulations, as previously scheduled.

Planning Director Jeff Harris said the meeting has been pushed out indefinitely, in part to give the county a chance to finalize its road-design standards, which are referenced in the new subdivision regulations.

The road standards, which are being developed and maintained by the Road Department, indicate the construction requirements developers must follow for new roadways, pavement, drainage systems and other improvements.

The commissioners will hold a public hearing on the road-design standards at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 12. They also will hold a workshop to discuss the draft subdivision regulations at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The draft had been scheduled for adoption Monday so that the Planning Office could use the new rules to evaluate future applications.

However, there's been substantial opposition to the proposed regulations from people who think they're too restrictive or that they don't do enough to protect water quality.

It's unclear whether the commissioners will ask the Flathead County Planning Board to review and revise the draft, or whether they'll try to tweak it themselves.

State law indicates that the subdivision regulations must be in compliance with the underlying growth policy.

The current regulations don't meet that requirement, given that the county just adopted a new growth policy. Harris said they also don't comply with some sections of the state statutes.

If new regulations aren't adopted this month, it's possible the commissioners will impose a temporary moratorium on new subdivisions applications, similar to what happened with zone changes last fall.

That would give the planning board time to work on the draft.

Alternatively, the commissioners could adopt a set of interim regulations, so that applications still could be processed while the draft is being revised.