BLUAC's woes with county planning office continue

By ALEX STRICKLAND/Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee balked on making a decision on the lone application at its meeting last week due to the lack of a completed staff report.

Due to a scheduling conflict with BLUAC's June meeting, Alex Hogle of the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office presented his report on a proposed subdivision on Coverdell Road a month earlier than he normally would. Because of the advanced timetable, his staff report hadn't been finalized and he did not yet have a written staff recommendation — though he did "anticipate a positive recommendation."

BLUAC was also concerned with the fact that adjoining landowners had not been notified of the proposal yet, something the county does 30 days prior to the application's hearing at the next level, which is scheduled to take place on July 9.

The issue of staff recommendations and completed staff reports has been a recurring issue for the BLUAC board, who have stated in past meetings that having to make decisions with incomplete reports is both unfair and inappropriate. This issue has also been raised by the Lakeside Community Council in recent months.

State statute requires that planning staff complete their report a prescribed number of days before an application is to be heard at the county planning board or board of adjustment level, but a timeline for local advisory boards is not laid out.

As a result of their high workload, Hogle said, planning staff very rarely are able to complete those reports before the local board meets.

Last week's application, a proposal by Dale and Irene McMurren to subdivide a 32.8 acre lot into two lots, one of which would be 10 acres, was tabled until BLUAC's June 24 meeting, when another staff member will present Hogle's completed report.

But having the report finished, Hogle said, is unlikely to become the norm.

"I don't want to create a false expectation here," he said. "Realistically, we get things done on the deadline."

BLUAC chairman John Bourquin said that while he felt "the board should make decisions independently" and noted that BLUAC does not always make decisions in line with staff recommendations, there was still "no excuse" for lacking a report.

In other business at the meeting, Bourquin and Gary Ridderhoff were sworn in for 3-year terms after coming out victorious at last month's elections. Chuck Gough, who was elected to complete a 2-year term, was not present and will be sworn in at the June meeting.