Watchdog group sues county over growth policy

Citizens for a Better Flathead announced Feb. 13 that it’s pressing ahead with a lawsuit against Flathead County over how amendments were made to the Flathead County Growth Policy.

The watchdog group claims Flathead County commissioners Pam Holmquist, Cal Scott and Dale Lauman “inserted sweeping changes into the county growth policy without allowing the people of the county to have an informed and considered say in the process.”

Changes adopted by the commissioners added 30 pages to the growth policy, but the public was not provided a final draft that highlighted the changes to be made, the group claims. The county also failed to produce minutes for meetings of the Flathead County Planning Board as required by Montana law, the group claims.

“Despite requests made of the county to show what they were striking and what they were adding, the only way for the public to know what was being changed was to plow through hundreds of pages of documents, word by word,” the group said.

The group has asked the district court to rule on the matter.

“The Montana Constitution and the Montana Supreme Court consistently recognize that in our democracy, the people should have meaningful say and input on government decisions that impact their lives and their property,” said Mayre Flowers, the group’s executive director. “This lawsuit is necessary in part because Flathead County ignored those fundamental rights of the people.”

The group said the 2007 Flathead County Growth Policy was adopted after extensive public meetings. But in fall 2012, the commissioners “failed to follow the mandatory procedures laid out in the Growth Policy for amendments, as well as basic rules in Montana law for keeping the public informed about and involved in these changes,” they claim.

The group also takes issue with new language in the growth policy that suggests property rights trump all other rights when conflicts arise over land use. The group calls that language  vague and unconstitutional and claim it will lead to more conflicts and lawsuits.

“Property rights exist on both sides of the fence, whether you are a developer, a farmer or a home owner,” Flowers said. “Balancing these rights is the entire point of having a growth policy in the first place, and Montana law cannot support this unconstitutional attempt to override that necessary balance.”

The so-called property owners “bill of rights” was added to the county growth policy at Holmquist’s request. She had promised more property rights protection when she campaigned for the commissioner seat.

The lawsuit also claims that courts have rebuked Flathead County several times in recent cases for failing to follow basic rules for allowing the public to have an informed and considered say on government actions.

“When democratic principles and clear rules that should guide public processes are abandoned, when respectful and meaningful consideration of public comment are not safeguarded, and when local and state regulations are not followed, we are compelled to ask the courts to review such actions,” Flowers said.

Flathead County planning director BJ Grieve spoke about the public process in June 2012 during the Flathead County Planning Board’s second public hearing on the proposed changes,. Keeping the public apprised of changes made to the growth policy during the update process was challenging because it’s such a large document, he said.

“It’s been a challenge to communicate to the public what’s being considered and what’s no longer being considered,” Grieve said at the time. “I do think this process has been open and has been thorough.”

The commissioners also discussed the public process at the time. Although they decided not to hold a public hearing on the final draft, they considered a two-year-long update process to be thorough.

Prior to adopting the updated growth policy, the commissioners lauded the county planning board and planning staff for an exhaustive process that included 21 workshops and two public hearings.