'Doughnut' zoning back on county agenda

The Flathead County commissioners on Wednesday will consider a revised recommendation from the Planning Board about how to proceed with planning and zoning in the “doughnut” area around Whitefish.

The commissioners will discuss the matter at 10:15 a.m.

Two weeks ago the commissioners discussed the board’s initial recommendation to repeal the 1996 Whitefish City-County master plan and replace it with county-initiated zoning once the interim zoning expires in the doughnut area.

The board recommended possibly amending the county growth policy to include a future land-use map that would draw on the land-use map in the 2007 Whitefish growth policy. That’s the language that seemed to give the commissioners heartburn, so they sent it back to the Planning Board for further revisions.

Now the board has recommended the county rely on the county growth policy for land-use decisions. While the county growth policy includes a land-use map, it does not lay out future land uses like the Whitefish growth policy does.

The board is sticking by its earlier recommendations to repeal the 1996 plan and replace interim zoning with county-initiated zoning.

The county is working through the process of resuming planning control of the doughnut as directed by a July 2014 Montana Supreme Court ruling.