Planning Board recommends guiding document for plans

The Flathead County Planning Board will send a 10-step document aimed at guiding interested communities on how to start a county-sanctioned neighborhood plan to the County Commissioners for approval.

The board voted 7-1 to forward it to the commissioners at its Oct. 14 meeting, with board member Charles Lapp opposing.

The steps are intended to clarify language in the county's 2007 growth policy that has been deemed confusing. A proposed Somers Neighborhood Plan was put on hold until the planning process could be clarified.

The Flathead County Attorney's Office will first review the document, which was the result of three workshops, for consistency with the growth policy before it comes before the commissioners.

Prior to passing the proposed steps, the board made several amendments, including taking out specific percentage requirements for support of neighborhood plans.

The board voted to amend step 4 so that a proposed neighborhood plan must be supported by a "clear majority of both landowners and acreage" within the established plan boundaries. This portion of the process previously required 50 percent of landowners signing a petition of support or a 60 percent poll of responding landowners.

Step 10 of the process was amended to reflect the same, less specific language requiring support from "a clear majority" before a plan could be presented to the board and the commissioners for adoption.

The part specifying how this could be done was removed.

The board also unanimously voted to add a footnote to step 5, clarifying that each taxable parcel should be entitled to one signature on a petition to the Flathead County Planning & Zoning office regardless of the number of owners.

The step states that signatures should be collected representing at least 10 percent of the parcels within the tentative boundaries.

This petition moves the work from informational meetings into the official planning process.

The steps allow for a minimum of three landowners to request public informational meetings for county staff to get involved. They also provide guidance for informing landowners and holding meetings in public.

For more information or to review a draft of the process, visit the Flathead County Planning & Zoning Web site http://flathead.mt.gov/planning_zoning/.