Planning director reacts to criticism

Flathead County Planning Director Jeff Harris, the main focus of American Dream Montana's campaign to correct alleged wrongdoing by the Planning Office, said it's difficult to respond until he knows exactly what he supposedly has done wrong.

"We haven't seen what they're alleging," Harris said. "They've gone to the press, but we only have glimpses and we don't know specifically what to respond to, with a few exceptions."

Harris, along with the county and the Lakeside Neighborhood Planning Committee, is being sued by a group of Somers and Lakeside landowners challenging the neighborhood planning process. He also is the focus of a petition being circulated by American Dream, calling for an independent investigation of the Planning Office as well as his immediate suspension.

Today at 9:15 a.m., property owners are meeting with the county commissioners over the Somers and Lakeside planning efforts. Harris said after that meeting he may have a clearer idea of the issues.

"If there are areas where we can improve, we'll do so and learn from it," he said. "The county does need to clarify the county's role and the community's responsibility in setting up neighborhood plans."

With a clearer understanding of the process, "maybe some of this contentiousness could've been avoided," Harris said.

Somers neighborhood meetings are on hold until the allegations can be sorted out, he said. It was an unruly June 15 meeting in Somers that was the springboard for mounting criticism over the Somers and Lakeside neighborhood planning efforts.

Harris was out of town at a family reunion in Colorado last week when the lawsuit was filed and the controversy kicked into high gear.

"I knew it was bad timing, but family comes first," he said.

He said rumors circulating that he was out of town looking for a new job are false.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com