Realtors seeking protection from law
As the city of Whitefish and Flathead County battle in court over authority for the two-mile "doughnut" area around Whitefish, a local real-estate group is taking steps to provide legal protection for its members as they deal with the interpretation of Whitefish's new critical-areas law.
The Northwest Montana Association of Realtors on Thursday released its critical-areas ordinance disclosure form. It is aimed at educating clients and disclosing "the impossibility of accurately placing a value on real property in Whitefish," the association said in a press release.
Current real-estate listings in the Whitefish area are valued at more than $774 million, according to the association.
There are 521 residential listings in the greater Whitefish area, which includes the doughnut area where the critical-areas ordinance could drastically restrict development and construction.
Whitefish's controversial critical-areas law went into effect April 2, putting controls in place for construction on slopes and in sensitive drainage areas.
"If the Whitefish City Council thought that the CAO (critical areas ordinance) was just about water quality, they were wrong," association president Cal Scott said in a prepared statement. "Water quality just became an economic loss. The CAO prohibits or restricts uses and construction unrelated to water quality, allows considerable discretion of city planning representatives and imposes substantial fees and costs on landowners who will try to shepherd their property through the COA's permitting process."
Realtor Tina Lawrence, who is developing the Bridgewater Trails subdivision on the city's eastern edge, said the association's disclosure form for members is an "incredibly wise" move.
"The legal ramifications for what they [the city] have done are so far-reaching," Lawrence said.
The disclosure form requires sellers and buyers to contact the city Planning and Building Department to determine the property's use and to inform buyers that brokers and real-estate agents "cannot provide an accurate opinion of the property's value" because the critical-areas ordinance will affect properties to different degrees.
The form further alerts buyers and sellers in the doughnut area that jurisdiction over that area is pending in litigation.
The county commissioners last month voted to rescind the interlocal agreement that created the doughnut area three years ago, arguing that Whitefish is exerting too much control over the two-mile area where residents cannot vote or be elected to the City Council.
The city of Whitefish then sued the county, alleging the county had no legal right to back out of the agreement. A Flathead District Court judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the county from taking further action to eliminate Whitefish's two-mile planning doughnut until a court hearing is held at 10 a.m. April 23.
"In order to protect our members and clients, we must disclose the ramifications of the Whitefish City Council's action," Scott said. "The burden they placed on individual homeowners will not only affect their property rights, but will have a negative impact on the resale values, tax revenues and economic vitality of Whitefish."
Earlier this month, the City Council adopted a fee schedule to pay for administering the new law. The city expects to hire two more employees to handle the critical-areas caseload, at a cost of about $157,000 annually.
What remains uncertain is how much money property owners will have to spend to get the technical OK to build.
In cases where the city requires an outside professional review of critical-area reports, a fee of $150 will be charged, plus the cost of a consultant review that could range from $1,000 to $10,000 or more.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com