By WILLIAM L. SPENCE

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Planning Board made several major changes in the draft growth policy on Tuesday during its second work session regarding the document.

The board drastically weakened one goal and several policies related to open space protection, as well as two policies related to development in areas with high groundwater.

It also added policies encouraging infill development and mixed-use projects.

Goal 9 in the draft policy called for the "preservation of functional open space that respects private property rights and that preserves the character of rural, suburban and urban Flathead County for the benefit of future generations and the natural environment."

The planning board replaced that with a goal to "define, identify and list desirable characteristics of open space preservation."

Some of the initial policies recommended to achieve Goal 9, and the planning board's revisions, include:

. Policy 9.1: "Encourage the preservation of open spaces" that serve the public health, safety and welfare was changed to "identify open spaces" that serve the public.

. Policy 9.2: "Create regulatory incentives for the perpetual preservation and protection of open spaces during the development process." The planning board removed the word "perpetual."

. Policy 9.4: Create an open space board and an open space preservation plan.

The planning board eliminated this policy. However, it modified another policy, 4.8, to call for the creation "of a rural lands board with significant representation from the agriculture and timber communities, and the planning board, to propose plans for conserving working farms, ranches, clean water and key wildlife habitat."

. Policy 9.5: Develop a voluntary exchange of development rights program, to help encourage dense development in areas with appropriate infrastructure while providing a mechanism to protect sensitive areas from future growth.

The planning board eliminated this item.

. Policy 9.6: Clarify that open space should be used to complement development "and create livable communities where daily interaction with ballfields, trails and interconnected natural areas improve quality of life for all residents."

The planning board eliminated this policy.

The growth policy will serve as the legal foundation for any subsequent zoning and subdivision regulations.

Consequently, the draft policy provided a foundation for regulations that might preserve open space. The changes made by the planning board, however, provide a foundation for identifying open space and listing desirable characteristics, while offering minimal ability to actually preserve those areas.

The board's basic objections to Goal 9 and the related policies seemed to be that they might be used to prevent development.

"What does 'functional open space' mean?" asked Charles Lapp. "That's my concern. Does it mean agricultural fields, timberland, the open field along the road where someone can drive by and see deer? I don't know what it means, and that's why it's so scary."

The issue of open space and, in particular, the proposed open space board were raised repeatedly in the public comments submitted regarding the draft growth policy.

"Open space and views are usually someone else's private property," wrote one person. "There are enough regulations, permits, neighborhood plans, zoning, etc., controlling the land."

Many people were concerned that the open space board would end up dictating what landowners could do with their property, preventing farmers from developing their land because the board wanted those fields maintained as open space.

Assistant Planning Director BJ Grieve later clarified that the open space board would only try to preserve areas for trails, recreation or critical habitat "at the time of development" and only by means of density incentives that rewarded developers and landowners for setting those areas aside.

However, Grieve was out of town on Tuesday and the planning board made no attempt to clarify the intent of the open space goal and policies.

In other action, the board eliminated Policy 10.1, which called for "discouraging high- and medium density development within the 500-year flood plain."

Several Evergreen residents expressed concerns about this policy, given that most of that area is in the 500-year flood plain.

The board also modified Policy 10.3 - which would "encourage low-density, impact-mitigated development in areas of shallow groundwater" - by removing the term "low-density." The revised goal now encourages impact-mitigated development in areas of shallow groundwater.

The board made minor revisions to several other proposed goals and policies. It also added Policy 6.5, to "conserve resources and minimize transportation demand by encouraging redevelopment and infill of existing commercial areas."

Another new policy was 7.6, which encourages mixed-use developments "that share infrastructure requirements such as parking, pedestrian facilities, etc., and reduce traffic by promoting live/work situations."

Tuesday was the second work session regarding the draft policy. The board has been reviewing the goals and policies one at a time.

So far, it has looked at about 20 percent of the 48 goals and more than 200 policies proposed in the document. At this rate, it will take at least eight more work sessions to complete the review, or roughly another month if the board holds two workshops per week.

Moreover, even with the changes being made now, some board members have indicated that they would be reluctant to recommend approval of the policy until it contains some future land-use maps - something that could take months to develop.

The planning board will hold its third work session on the draft policy tonight, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building. Public comment will be taken at the end of the meeting.