Environmental regulation without representation

Many of us just want to be left alone to go about our day-to-day activities. Some others prefer to control situations and manipulate things to their own advantage.

Those in the first group are usually not interested in gaining power, they generally treat others as they wish to be treated and usually don't run for public office. The latter group gravitate towards increasing their power and seem to enjoy controlling what others can and cannot do.

There are exceptions to this principle, but it is generally recognizable from the board of a local homeowners association to the highest offices of the land. This is probably one of the reason why James Madison said, "All men having power ought to be mistrusted."

I own a cabin on property located on Blanchard Lake. The lake and the surrounding properties are not within the Whitefish city limits, yet it is one of the areas to be controlled by the proposed Critical Areas Ordinance.

We have always planned on building a home on the property at some point in the future. Now we are facing a 125-foot buffer zone from the lake-fringe wetlands, plus an additional 25-foot setback (a total of 150 feet).

I have an environmental background, so I understand the science, but I find the buffers to be overly extreme. The ordinance does not allow for smaller buffers that incorporate engineering controls in design and construction, which is another way to protect water quality.

We are more fortunate than some others. Our property is big enough that we will still be able to build, but we won't be able to build a home near to or where the existing cabin is located (85 feet from the lake); we will have to jump through more hoops and now the paperwork will be more costly. It seems as if we have lost yet one more thing.

The Whitefish City Council will be ultimately deciding whether, and to what extent, these regulations will be applied to the property owners around Blanchard Lake or anyone within a two-mile radius of the city, unless the county commissioners intervene.

What is really interesting is that none of my neighbors at the lake who are year-round residents, nor anyone outside of the city limits, will be able to vote for or against members of the city council who support the ordinance. I seem to remember a similar charge levied in the Declaration of Independence.

Scott Wagner lives in Kali-spell and owns property here.