Don't rush critical-areas effort
There's a water war of sorts being fought in Whitefish.
Property-rights advocates and developers are on one side, a city seeking to implement rules to protect water quality is on the other. The strife is over the proposed critical-areas ordinance, a piece of local legislation aimed at managing stormwater through sensitive drainage areas.
There's a lot at stake on both sides. Proposed setbacks may affect the way people with property along rivers and streams and on steep slopes are able to build on their property. Opponents say some won't be able to build on their property at all, though the City Council maintains the law is written to ensure all lots remain buildable.
The latest battle involves a new citizens group, Sensible Land Use, which has circulated flyers on two occasions to get its points across. The City Council last week sent out its own mailing defending the proposal.
To its credit, the Whitefish Planning Board, comprised of both city and county residents, has been poring over the critical-areas ordinance at a couple of recent workshops. Perhaps enough compromises can be made to make it acceptable to both sides - perhaps.
Property owners who bought a lot along a river or stream years ago for a retirement home have a right to develop land they bought in good faith. It's likely the critical-areas ordinance, if passed in its current draft, will be challenged in court. And if lawsuits start flooding City Hall, should Whitefish taxpayers foot the bill for litigation?
On the other hand, what is water quality worth? In Whitefish, Whitefish Lake and Whitefish River are central to the town's identity and values. They are too important to ruin. The county is now looking at its own waterways setback regulations and to be sure, what happens in Whitefish in terms of managing stormwater will set the tone for what happens elsewhere in the Flathead.
The pressure is on, then, for Whitefish to get it right.
The planning board is expected to vote on the ordinance on Thursday and the council gets it Nov. 5. Some say there's a push to get it approved before a new council is seated in January.
Sensible Land Use suggests delaying a decision until all the ramifications and unintended consequences of such legislation are known. This makes a lot of sense, because at the very least, confusion abounds about how the new law would affect various properties.
The Whitefish City Council should be commended for recognizing the need to preserve water quality. The critical-areas ordinance is well-intended and probably needed.
The perception exists in some quarters, however, that Whitefish city government has forced its will upon the people, beginning with an emergency law more than two years ago that put development in sensitive drainage areas on hold until a stormwater master plan could be completed.
Maybe sweeping changes need to be made to the proposed law. Maybe a little public education and reassurance are all that's needed. Whatever the fix, the same water-quality issues before Whitefish now will be there next year.
Take time to do the job right.