By WILLIAM L. SPENCE

The Daily Inter Lake

The first in a series of open houses on the new Flathead County Growth Policy takes place in Kalispell Monday night.

This is the first substantial update to the county's fundamental planning vision in 19 years. The policy will help guide and direct future growth in the valley.

The draft document, which was written by the county planning staff, was released for public review on June 30. It contains 10 chapters and is 154 pages long.

The first chapter discusses seven primary objectives identified during almost two dozen public meetings late last year and early this year.

The objectives focus on the characteristics that people value most about the Flathead, what they want to see developed here in the future or that they would like to avoid. They include protecting the views, promoting a diverse economy, minimizing traffic, maintaining the identity of the valley's unincorporated communities, protecting access to recreational areas, protecting the natural environment and preserving private property rights.

These objectives serve as a starting point for the various goals and policies identified throughout the growth policy. They help make this the Flathead's long-term planning vision as opposed to some other community's vision.

The next seven chapters address the specific areas outlined in state statutes, including land use, demographics and housing, parks and recreation, the economy, transportation, public infrastructure and services, and natural resources.

Each chapter provides information about existing conditions and future trends. Goals and policies are also provided to try and achieve the type of growth that people want to see here.

For example, the land-use chapter has 14 goals that encourage everything from "protection of scenic resources" to "safe, healthy residential densities that preserve the character of Flathead County."

Each overarching goal comes with a series of policies that would be followed to realize the goal, such as identifying and protecting critical gateway areas that provide first impressions of the valley for visitors and residents.

The ninth chapter outlines a number of implementation strategies that could be used to make sure the goals and objectives contained in the growth policy are actually achieved over time.

These strategies include traditional mechanisms such as zoning and subdivision regulations, as well as new alternatives such as "development predictability maps" that indicate appropriate densities for unzoned areas, or maps that outline future road corridors and bike/pedestrian pathways.

The final chapter deals with neighborhood plans, which provide more detailed development guidelines for specific areas.

Six open houses will be held around the valley over the next two weeks, giving people an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the policy with the county planning staff.

A 30-day written comment period ends on Aug. 1, and the Flathead County Planning Board will hold a formal public hearing on the draft version on Aug. 8.

After the board makes its recommendation, a final draft will go to the county commissioners. They're expected to approve the document by Oct. 1.

Copies of the draft growth policy are available from the Flathead County Planning Office.

They can also be reviewed at all local library branches, and can be downloaded from the planning office Web site, www.co.flathead.mt.us/fcpz/growthpolicy.html

Three open houses are scheduled this week:

. Monday's meeting takes place in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.

. On Tuesday, an open house will be held in the Evergreen Junior High School gymnasium, 20 W. Evergreen Drive.

. On Wednesday, an open house will take place in Bethany Lutheran Church in Bigfork, 8559 Montana 35.

All three meetings run from 6-9 p.m.