Stream setbacks up for hearing this week

Flathead County commissioners will hold public hearings on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 to solicit public comments on revisions to the county's subdivision regulations.

The regulations, if adopted, will apply only to those choosing to subdivide land.

The meetings will begin at 6 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building.

The county adopted new subdivision regulations last August, but some of the proposed regulations were withheld because of their contentious nature. Meetings on streamside setbacks have been especially heated.

Setback regulations are included this time around.

Proposed setback widths will 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, the Stillwater River, the Whitefish River and the Swan River would have 250-foot setbacks with 100-foot vegetative buffers.

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

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

The Planning Board's justification for the setbacks is written into the regulations and states that "The maintenance and integrity of natural river systems is crucial to the quality and quantity of water resources in Flathead County."

Because of public complaints about a "one size fits all" policy, the county is proposing a Riparian Resource Management Plan that would allow a developer to request flexibility with setback requirements.

Russ Crowder, the executive director for American Dream Montana, has in the past threatened to sue the county over the setbacks. Crowder has cited Montana law that says if a local regulation is more strict than state law, the local government must provide peer-reviewed scientific studies to support the more stringent regulation.

During a meeting with county commissioners on Tuesday, Deputy County Attorney Peter Steele and Planning and Zoning Director Jeff Harris discussed the setbacks and state law.

"The majority of people want setbacks," Harris said. "It's a very vocal minority that doesn't want them."

Steele said the state law Crowder and others cite in opposition to the setbacks is very unclear, and he expects the state Legislature to clean up the language.

According to Steele, the law can actually be read to apply only to sanitation and clean water regulations, not to any regulation the county enacts.

"The way it can be read by some people is every regulation has to meet this," Steele said. "The argument can be made that you can read it and see it's only about sanitation."

Other significant portions of the regulations include application requirements, clustered development, subdivision improvement agreements, road paving and development in the wildland urban interface.

Along with the 72 pages of subdivision regulations, Flathead County has created 62 pages of appendices dealing with subdivision application supplements, environmental assessments, community impact reports, final plat instructions, subdivision improvement agreements, standards for flood hazard evaluation, dust control plans, and fire prevention in the wildland urban interface.

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com