Somers considers planning effort

A potential Somers neighborhood plan appears to have noticeable support.

The Flathead County Planning Department mailed 422 letters to Somers-area property owners to get feedback on where the area should have a neighborhood plan.

The department has received 110 responses so far, county planner Allison Mouch said.

The responses broke down as follows:

n 70 percent supported creating a neighborhood plan.

n 4 percent opposed it.

n 26 percent wanted more information before deciding.

County planning staff members provided background information on the concept to about 50 people in Somers on Thursday evening.

"All this is is an education thing to understand what a neighborhood plan is," said Dennis Hatton, a leading supporter of creating a plan.

A follow-up meeting to discuss possible boundaries for the plan area is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. June 2 at the Somers fire station.

A neighborhood plan is essentially a document of grassroots guidelines on how an area's residents want to see their area developed.

Such a plan is nonregulatory and not legally binding, but is used by the county's planning department, planning board and commissioners to guide land-use recommendations and decisions.

Flathead County has 17 neighborhood plans for unincorporated areas that date back to the 1990s. An 18th plan recently was added.

In the past several years, at least two attempts to create a Somers neighborhood plan have failed.

Any neighborhood plan would be conceived and debated by the area's residents before taking a draft to the county planning board and county commissioners.

"You are in the driver's seat. … We'll be beginning with a blank sheet of paper," said Jeff Harris, the county planning director.

If significant opposition materializes, the planning attempt could be stopped, he said.

A petition signed by 40 percent of the landowners or by owners of 50 percent of the land in the proposed area would legally stop the effort.