Regulations

Let me see if I have this correct:

Whitefish doesn’t enforce its

steep-slopes building regulations, then it does, gets sued and

loses.

Whitefish doesn’t enforce its sign

ordinance, then it does, gets sued and loses.

Whitefish doesn’t enforce its zoning

regulations along U.S. 93, then decides it wants to — well, you

know the rest.

Why make rules if you don’t enforce

them? Why employ people who don’t do their jobs? And why should we

have any confidence that whatever decisions come out of the

“doughnut” and U.S. 93 corridor debates will mean anything?

The last I heard, they were trying to

come up with a list of businesses that would and would not be

permitted along U.S. 93. Things like convenience stores, personal

services and home furnishings.

Am I the only one who thinks that’s the

stupidest idea since Congress passed the Americans With

Disabilities Act without defining what a disability is? Let the

courts decide, they said.

I challenge anyone to define each of

these businesses with enough detail to prevent me from building

pretty much whatever I want. And with our stellar track record of

enforcement to back it up, I can hear the lawyers at the door

already.

Rick Packard

Whitefish