Dupont also wants say in doughnut lawsuit

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

For the third time in less than a year, documents have been filed by people who want a say in the city of Whitefish’s lawsuit against Flathead County over the two-mile planning and zoning jurisdiction commonly called the “doughnut” area.

Flathead County Com missioner Jim Dupont and “doughnut” resident Anne Reno filed for intervenor status on Feb. 18.

Two separate parties filed for intervenor status in March 2008 — Heiko and Elizabeth Arndt, who own property on Whitefish Stage Road, and Westridge Investments LLC, with principal R. Matthew Moran, which owns property on Birch Glen Road.

Then in January this year, the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors filed an amicus brief in support of the county.

In his application, Dupont cites the importance of the “doughnut” issue in last year’s county commissioner election. Dupont notes that his Republican primary opponent, incumbent commissioner Gary Hall, admitted the interlocal agreement that created the “doughnut” was a mistake.

Dupont also notes that his Democratic opponent, Steve Qunell, favored Whitefish control over the planning and zoning area, and only one of the three current county commissioners, Joe Brenneman, supports the interlocal agreement.

“Dupont believes that previous commissioners should not be able to bind future commissioners on legislative issues, such as enacting zoning and growth policies in the doughnut,” his application states.

Reno, who owns property on Eagle Creek Trail, “is a single mother living on limited means,” the application states, and “her home is her major asset and nest egg for retirement.”

A registered voter who supported Dupont in last year’s election but otherwise votes Democratic, Reno says she spoke out against the city’s controversial Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) at numerous public meetings.

“Reno is greatly upset that the CAO, which imposes rules and costs on her land, was foisted on her by politicians she cannot vote for (or against),” the application states. “She believes that the Whitefish City Council did not have to listen to doughnut property owners because they knew they had no voting power.”

Reno says she “has been a good steward of her property and takes great pride in treating it well,” but the CAO “imposes significant costs on her.”

She also claims the interlocal agreement subjects her to “taxation without representation.” While she pays no city taxes, the taxes she pays to Flathead County cannot be used by the county planning office for work on her property, and fees required by the city’s Critical Areas Ordinance are “arguably an additional form of taxation.”

Whitefish city attorney John Phelps says the city will “actively oppose” application by intervenors in the case. He told Dupont and Reno’s attorney, Tammi Fisher, that “only the parties to the interlocal agreement have the right to litigate its validity and interpretation.”