Finding a formula for resource protection

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

An ad hoc committee assigned to one of the most contentious issues ever faced by Whitefish recently completed its assignment.

After holding 12 meetings between May 4 and July 31, the seven-member Ad Hoc Critical Area Advisory Committee has handed off its 23-page draft ordinance to the Whitefish City-County Planning Board for review.

The ordinance addresses impacts to environmentally-sensitive areas and proposes regulations for development on steep slopes and near lakes, streams and wetlands.

The planning board agreed Aug. 16 to hold a community meeting on the draft ordinance on Sept. 13 in the O'Shaughnessy. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at their regular Sept. 20 meeting.

"We need to be ready for this or the public will put us through the meat grinder," board member Scott Sorensen told the board.

Ad hoc committee and planning board member Frank Sweeney explained why the draft ordinance appears so complicated.

"Nobody wanted simple answers — like no building on slopes steeper than 30 percent," he said. "It's an innovative approach to a complicated issue, and the consultants agreed."

The draft ordinance is intended to address sites on a case-by-case basis, Sweeney said.

"I won't say it's a perfect document," he said. "The same people who said it's too hard to read were the same people who didn't want simple answers."

Planning board member Peggy Sue Amelon toured sample critical areas with Randy Overton, the ad hoc committee's consultant from RLK Hydro, of Kalispell. She said she had been concerned about the cost of hiring experts to determine buildable sites.

Amelon said Overton assured her the cost would not be too high, and building on steep slopes usually costs more anyway because of geotechnical issues.

Whitefish attorney Sean Frampton, who represented William and Theodora Walton in their suit against the city over the 30 percent slope regulation, also attended a field trip with Overton.

Frampton told the ad hoc committee July 31 that a property on Whitefish Lake's east lakeshore was scored at less than 16 under the draft ordinance's slope matrix while a property on the west side came in above 36.

"The 'failing' property is similar to others on the lake that have not experienced actual sediment runoff," he said. "Based on this example, the matrix does not accurately predict water quality impacts."

The matrix is not a water-quality predictor, Overton replied.

"The intent of the matrix is to screen sites that exhibit characteristics that indicate that there is an increased potential for slope failures that would then lead to off-site sedimentation, especially in a catastrophic fashion," he said.

According to the draft critical areas ordinance, sites with slopes greater than 10 percent will be evaluated using a matrix that rates the site's shape, parent material, density and stability on a scale from one to three. Those numbers are then multiplied together.

The result can range from a low of one to a high of 81. Development on sites with a score of 36 or more are prohibited without a reasonable-use exemption (RUE).

The city's planning director can grant an RUE for any legally-existing lot or parcel of record if the ordinance renders the property undevelopable. In reviewing applications for an RUE, the director will also look at whether reasonable and viable development alternatives exist and if impacts associated with the RUE are minimized.

"An RUE shall not be approved solely to improve views and vistas or proximity to amenities when viable alternatives exist," the draft ordinance states.

For county property inside the city's two-mile extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, any new or expanded use or structure will require a critical areas compliance permit.

Detailed topographical computer maps on city computers only cover properties inside the city limits, creating problems for county property-owners. But the draft ordinance proposes no fees for the compliance permit and no formal land surveys, and the planning director can waive requirements for a site plan.

The ordinance also proposes buffers and setbacks for water bodies and wetlands:

? On Whitefish River from Whitefish Lake to JP Road, the buffer will extend to the top of the bank. Downstream from JP Road, the buffer is 75 feet from the mean high-water mark.

? For 10 named perennial streams and their tributaries, the buffer is 100 feet and the setback is 25 feet.

? For intermittent streams, the buffer is 50 feet and the setback is 25 feet.

? The buffer for wetlands is 100 feet for single-family homes. It is increased for areas of special concern and for multi-family, commercial or industrial development.

? Wetlands between 1,000 and 10,000 square feet in area can be filled or degraded if impacts are fully mitigated.

? Buffer widths can be reduced if the buffer area is restored or enhanced.

? Viewing structures, paths and stream crossings are allowed in buffers.

The draft ordinance also addresses forest management for view enhancement. Pruning and limited tree removal is allowed, but tree replacement is sometimes required. Forest management for the health of the stand will be allowed on steep slopes and buffers.

The draft ordinance and minutes to the ad hoc committee's meetings are available online at http://planitwhitefish.com.