City to start work on growth policy

The City of Columbia Falls will start work in the coming months on revising its growth policy. The policy lays the blueprint for future growth in and around the city.

The original growth policy was adopted in 2005 and was revised in 2008 and 2013. Since the last revision, the city has seen significant in-fill.

This revision plans to take a closer look at the policy’s map, to determine if its still reflects the community’s vision.

One topic at the forefront is what’s next? As the city has seen significant in-fill over the past few years and the number of housing and commercial lots within the city limits is diminishing.

There had been plans for future housing east of the city and the Flathead River — even preliminary plats. But they fell through when the Great Recession hit.

Now those same plots of land are up for sale again.

The city-county planning board will take up the first aspects of the growth policy at its Dec. 11 meeting.