Columbia Falls will lose ‘doughnut’ planning under new state law

Columbia Falls will soon lose its “doughnut," an extraterritorial planning jurisdiction that gives the municipality say in developments outside the city limits.

The doughnut has come into prominent play in the last year or so as the city has seen development proposals both to the north and to the east.

For example, in January, the city gave the green light to a subdivision at Meadow Lake Resort after several contentious public meetings.