Stream setback decisions could be made case by case

By John Stang / The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Commissioners want to deal with stream setbacks on a case-by-case basis in the county's new subdivision regulations.

The commissioners also want to keep homes from being built on flood plains on subdivided land.

The actual vote on the entire subdivision law will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 8. The proposed regulations do not apply to existing property as long as it is not subdivided.

All three commissioners agreed Monday not to install definite distances on setbacks for homes on subdivided land next to rivers and streams.

The setbacks issue has been controversial over the last six weeks, with property rights advocates clashing with people wanting greater protections for streams.

Commissioner Joe Brenneman pushed for dealing with subdivided streamside land on a case-by-case basis, with vegetative buffers to be required to prevent water and chemicals from freely flowing into rivers and creeks.

Fellow commissioners Gary Hall and Dale Lauman agreed with that approach.

"I think we have a lot of adequate controls. … I think it should be site-specific," Lauman said.

The commissioners left language intact in the proposed regulations that would require a subdividing party to account for vegetation types, vegetation buffers, slopes, drainage, soil makeup, potential disturbances to riparian areas, and plans to stabilize stream banks.

"I hate to be the generation that enjoys it, but to also say: 'We didn't quite take care of it,'" Brenneman said.

County Planning Director Jeff Harris argued for specific setback distances from streams.

"If you don't tell [developers and homeowners] what to expect, they'll do too little or too much. … How do you say what's appropriate? … I think people are looking for more consistency."

The commissioners said they believe county zoning regulations contain adequate setback requirements - without adding setbacks to the new subdivision regulations.

The setback distances in zoning laws range from 20 feet to at least 150 feet, Harris said.

However, at least one-third of the county is not zoned, so those zoning setbacks are not applicable in those unzoned areas, he said in arguing for specific setback distances in subdivision regulations.

Mayre Flowers, director of Citizens for a Better Flathead, contended that smaller developers would fare better with definite distances with which they could comply without needing to pay for studies and experts to map fuzzier and easier-to-dispute setbacks.

Charles Lapp, representing the Flathead Building Association, thought the commissioners' stance was a good compromise in the setback dispute.

In originally coming up with setback recommendations, the county planning staff and board tried to achieve middle ground in the setbacks recommended by various scientists and the public.

The original proposed setback widths were to be measured from the high-water mark to the edge of the 100-year flood plain as shown on a Federal Emergency Management Agency map or:

. The Flathead River and its three forks, plus the Stillwater River, Whitefish River and Swan River would have had 250-foot setbacks with 100-foot vegetative buffers.

. Ashley Creek (from Smith Lake to the Flathead River) and the Fisher River would have had 200-foot setbacks with 75-foot vegetative buffers.

. All other streams would have had 60-foot setbacks with 50-foot vegetative buffers.

Organizations opposing these proposed setbacks include American Dream Montana, the Montana Environmental Consultants Association, the Flathead Building Association, Flathead Business and Industry Association and the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors.

Supporters of the setbacks included the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Flathead Wildlife Inc., Flathead Ducks Unlimited, Flathead Trout Unlimited, the Flathead chapter of the Audubon Society, Montana Conservation Voters, Flathead Lakers, Flathead Basin Commission and Citizens for a Better Flathead.

The biological station said even greater setbacks are needed.

In a letter to the commissioners, the station said that setbacks would help cut back on nutrient concentrations in the Flathead's rivers and lakes. In a few years, the federal government will limit nutrient concentrations in stream and lakes, which will require expensive improvements on sewage treatment plants.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com