Evergreen meeting to address land-use effort

A March 21 community meeting has been scheduled to see whether Evergreen residents want to create a land-use advisory committee.

Alan Gilbertson, president of the Evergreen Business and Property Owners Association, set the meeting from noon to 3 p.m. at Evergreen Junior High School.

Gilbertson said the meeting's purpose is to get public feedback on what issues Evergreen residents should address, including whether a land-use advisory committee should be formed.

Gilbertson said he is ambivalent about a land-use advisory committee.

"Am I in favor of if? Yes and no. I want to know what Evergreen is thinking. … I want them to decide the future of Evergreen," he said.

Recently the Flathead County commissioners agreed to prepare a resolution to establish a seven-member Evergreen Land Use Advisory Committee that would shepherd the process of establishing land-use guidelines for an area that includes one of the state's largest unincorporated cities.

Such a resolution also would set the boundaries for the planning area.

The suggested southern border would coincide with the southern border of the Evergreen Fire District along Conrad Drive. To the north, the proposed land-use district would go as far as Conn Road, which is part of the airport's runway entry space. Whitefish Stage Road would serve as the western border, and to the east the proposed district would include the flood plain on the east side of the Flathead River and the Old Steel Bridge.

The proposed district contains the area governed by the Helena Flats Neighborhood Plan, which will continue to serve as the planning tool for the Helena Flats zoning district.

Such a committee would put together a land-use plan -which would consist of suggested guidelines to give the Planning Board an idea of what an unincorporated community wants to see in development in its area. Neighborhood plans do not have the force of law or regulations.

So far, Flathead County has 18 such committees and land-use plans.

Gilbertson's effort prompted criticism from county Planning Board member George Culpepper Jr. at Wednesday's board meeting.

Culpepper described Gilbertson's venture as a one-man effort for land-use planning in Evergreen, which has 8,000 to 10,000 residents. Culpepper said the Evergreen business association has not met in two years.

Culpepper asked the county planning staff to research the threshold of public support needed to set up a land-use advisory committee.

With 3 1/2 months on the planning board, Culpepper already has harshly criticized Bigfork's proposed land-use plan.

Gilbertson said he informally consulted with some association board members prior to floating the land-use committee trial balloon.

He acknowledged that the association - with at least 100 members - has not formally met for a long time.

Gilbertson said he met with the Evergreen Fire Department, Evergreen Sewer and Water District and Glacier Park International Airport before taking the proposal to the county commissioners.

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