Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board soon no more

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

At the end of June, the Columbia Falls “doughnut” planning jurisdiction will be no more. The city-county planning board will be no more as well.

After analyzing the impacts of Senate Bill 382, also known as the Montana Planning Use Act, the city determined that not only does its extraterritorial planning jurisdiction get expunged, so does the joint planning board.

The planning board had four members that were not city residents because of the doughnut. Now, when a project comes up, the city’s new five-member planning commission will examine projects before they go on to city council for approval.

Those members, by law, all live in the city limits. They are Darin Fisher, chair, Sam Kavanagh, Dulcie Berube, Mark Johnson and Justin Ping.

Fisher was a former city councilman and Kavanagh previously served on the city-county planning board.

The commission was set up in accordance with the Planning Use Act. In the past with the doughnut in place, the city had a say in development outside its boundaries. For example, when a new subdivision was created at Meadow Lake Resort last year, the city had a say in its details, as it was inside the doughnut.

Now that doughnut is no more after June 30, the city will only have a say if a developer asks for city services, like sewer and water, which automatically requires annexation into the city.

If they don’t need city services, developments will now fall under the county’s planning jurisdiction and will be reviewed by the county planning board, planning staff and ultimately the county commissioners.

The city still will plan for growth outside its boundaries in a broader sense under the Planning Use Act, as it will do a housing study and other planning work in anticipation of further growth.

Most developers want city services, as having city sewer and water allows them to build homes with greater density on lots. Without city services, the lots must be big enough to accommodate septic systems and they have to put in water systems, either individual wells or community wells.

The Benches subdivision east of the Flathead River is a prime example. It’s single-family homes with septic systems, but has a community well. The Land Use Planning Act actually discourages that sort of development, as it results in sprawl and lower density, which, at least in this day and age in Montana, means higher housing costs.

The city was recently awarded a $30,000 Department of Commerce grant to complete a new housing study of the city and surrounding area. The city will advertise requests for proposals soon. The data from that study, which will likely include housing projections and future demand, will be critical as the planning commission continues to craft an overall plan for future growth in Columbia Falls.

Meanwhile, the county commissioners will have a public hearing on the “new” interim zoning around the city on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. at the commissioner’s office. The area zoning includes lands to the east of the city to about the Benches subdivision and lands to the west all the way to the Blue Moon, in short, the city’s “doughnut” zoning area.