City takes first steps to implement SB382

A new state law that changes the way Columbia Falls will do land use planning in the future got a first close look last week.

Senate Bill 382 will remove the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction commonly referred to the “doughnut” and require the city to complete an in-depth look at land use planning while projecting housing trends into the future for the next 20 years.

Unless the Legislature amends the law in its next session, the city has about three years to adopt the new law into its planning codes and there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then as the city will have to examine its infrastructure, such as sewer, water and streets; a transportation plan and housing study.

All of this adds up to an estimated cost of about $400,000, city manager Susan Nicosia told council and the audience.

In a followup discussion, Nicosia noted that there are state grants available, but they’re projected to be about $20,000 to $50,000 or so, maybe more if federal Housing and Urban Development funds become available.

The city would have been updating its growth policy in 2024-25 anyway, but that wouldn’t have required the data that’s necessary under SB382. 

The next step in what promises to be a long process is to appoint a planning commission to begin crafting the land use plan.

However, the city will only have a say in projects outside its city limits if a developer requests to annexation.

So, for example, if a developer wanted to build a subdivision east of the river that was just single family homes on septic systems that didn’t need city services, it would go before the county planning board, not the city’s commission.

Having said that, the city (and county) still need to maintain the city-county planning board until the city fully implements SB382 in case a subdivision proposal comes up between now and full implmentation of the law, city planner Eric Mulcahy noted.

Mayre Flowers, executive director of Citizens for a Better Flathead questioned whether the bill actually removed the city’s “doughnut,” as it’s not clearly spelled out in the law.

But Mulcahy noted that was indeed the case, according to attorneys with the Montana League of Cities and Towns.

Counties are exempt from SB382 and when it was being debated in the state Legislature they lobbied against being included.

“This bill doesn’t fit Flathead County. We’re largely rural,” Flathead County Commissioner Brad Abell said earlier this year in a Montana Free Press story. “And our citizens in the county don’t want zoning. If you implement zoning, they’ll hang all three of us in the courthouse yard.”

But that doesn’t appear to be true. Many residents in the audience lived outside the city limits, primarily east of the Flathead River where developers are most likely going to look to build houses in the future. 

Shirley Folkwein of the Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association, which represents many homeowners in the area, asked if they could comment as the process moved forward.

The answer was yes. The process, city attorney Justin Breck noted, would have multiple opportunities for public comment.

Columbia Falls is just one of many cities in Montana adapting to the state law, including Whitefish and Kalispell in the Flathead.

Last week, Kalispell simply made its current planning board its new planning commission, according to a story in the Daily Inter Lake.

On Monday, Columbia Falls city council voted to make its commission a five-member board and will solicit letters of interest to serve on it. 

People interested can contact city hall for more information. They’re expected to name the new commission by mid-January.

The bill has already drawn a lawsuit from a homeowners group out of Bozeman, according to a story in the Montana Free Press.

The group claims portions of it are unconstitutional because it creates “top down” densification of neighborhoods, essentially forcing higher density in areas that have covenants and homeowners associations that prohibit high density or multi-family housing.

Councilman Mike Shepard asked Breck if the city should consider the suit before moving ahead.

Breck said he hadn’t yet read the suit, but he saw no reason for the city to wait at this point.

“My advice is to proceed as normal,” Breck said.