Game plan emerges for update of growth plan

The Flathead County commissioners on Thursday gave the nod to begin updating the 2007 County Growth Policy.

But a resolution still needs to be passed by the commissioners so that meetings can begin in January. State law requires the local governing body to formally request the Planning Board to work on the growth policy update.

A subcommittee of the Flathead County Planning Board met in mid-November to develop a work plan for updating the growth policy, based in part on comments gleaned from earlier public workshops held by the Planning Board.

Rather than a wholesale update of the document, the update will focus on specific areas in most need of clarification or revisions, Planning Director BJ Grieve said.

“They won’t tinker with goals and policies,” he added.

Updating the growth policy to reflect existing characteristics and projected trends in Flathead County is important to ensure the document continues to accurately reflect the present-day needs of county residents, Grieve said.

The work plan calls for a lengthy review that would begin in January and end in March 2012. The Planning Board on Wednesday threw its support toward moving forward with the update.

The first three months would be spent reviewing a chapter on the Flathead economy and adding a section on economic development. A users manual would be developed to add to the beginning of the growth policy, explaining how the policy should be used, and what it can and can’t do.

From April through June, the focus would shift to sand and gravel resources and a property owners “Bill of Rights” that has been introduced by incoming County Commissioner Pam Holmquist.

From July through September, meetings would update facts, figures and maps. Other approved plans, such as a county parks plan, would be added, along with specific text about how to start a neighborhood plan.

Public workshops would be held quarterly, tentatively slated for March, June and September 2011.

The last quarter of 2011 would be spent preparing a preliminary draft of the updated growth policy. Time will be allotted for additional workshops and a Planning Board public hearing.

The final draft would go to the commissioners in January 2012, with a goal of being adopted by April 1, 2012.

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