Election: Zoning changes needed

Flathead County commissioner candidate Gary Krueger calls for tweaking some zoning regulations to promote economic growth — especially in agricultural areas.

Krueger was declared the winner of a five-way Republican primary race for Dale Lauman’s seat following a June 25 recount. He and Jay Scott were neck and neck, with 3,636 and 3,621 respectively before the recount. Krueger faces Democratic candidate Clara Mears-LaChappelle in the November election.

The 53-year-old Republican was a volunteer fireman when he was younger and served 22 years with the West Valley School Board, four years on the Flathead County Board of Adjustment and six years with the West Valley Land-Use Advisory Committee.

The son of a former county commissioner, Krueger and his sons farm 460 acres of family land in the West Valley and some leased land, where they grow canola, wheat and hay. He previously ran Flathead Valley Concrete and operates a gravel pit on five acres in West Valley.

The county’s zoning regulations are out of date, Krueger said, and he couldn’t recall a time when they were ever reviewed. He cites two examples where zoning regulations stand in the way of economic development.

For one, he’d like to see permitted uses on larger agricultural properties loosened up to promote home-based businesses. Right now, no more than two customer cars can show up at a time at a home-based business on a farm or ranch.

He’s also concerned about court cases involving “extent of use.” If a person committed money and resources to establish a business on an unzoned property, and then zoning was enacted before the business was fully established, would the business be grandfathered, he wanted to know.

“I recommend some clarification on that issue,” he said.

With the county’s updated growth policy unanimously approved by the county commissioners on Oct. 12, Krueger gave his support for the document and certain revisions, including a new section on property rights and a “user’s manual” he said he had suggested, and clarifying the document’s regulatory authority.

“The growth policy process has been hijacked across Montana,” he said. “They’re trying to make it into a regulatory document, and some court rulings say it is even if state law says it isn’t.”

He said language was added to the county growth policy saying the document is not regulatory. Krueger wants planning efforts to focus on health, safety and general welfare, with the latter meaning things like setbacks to protect homes from fires and to allow roads to be widened in the future. He said he doesn’t approve of the phrase “orderly growth.”

“With the size and complexity of the growth policy, anyone could find a word or section to use to their advantage,” he said. “The commissioners need to look at every aspect of a zone change request, or we could end up with too many lawsuits if we used the growth policy as a regulatory document.”

Krueger also would like to see the county promote itself more to attract outside businesses. He cites the valley’s good schools and great outdoor recreational opportunities as a draw. Taxes might need some changes, he noted.

“I’m not a glass-half-full kind of guy — taxes can be changed,” he said.