The Daily Inter Lake

Fast on the heels of the new growth policy, the Flathead County Planning Office has released a new set of subdivision regulations for public review.

Among other changes, the draft regulations include much more detailed planning procedures, a call for greater road paving, and propose tighter development standards for flood plains, high fire hazard locations and other areas where safety is a concern.

A 30-day public comment period on the draft document begins Monday. There will also be a public planning board workshop on March 7 and a formal public hearing on March 28.

The subdivision regulations dictate what steps developers must take to get a new project approved. The current regulations were adopted in 1984; some sections have been amended since then, but this will be their first overhaul in more than 20 years.

Work on the updated version began about a year ago. However, it was set aside for several months last summer and fall so the Planning Office could finish work on the new growth policy.

The document is re-emerging now because state law requires subdivision regulations to be in compliance with the growth policy.

Planning Director Jeff Harris said the new growth policy is set to be formally adopted on March 19. If the new, compliant subdivision regulations aren't available within a few weeks of that date, the county might have to impose a temporary moratorium on subdivision applications - similar to the current moratorium on zone changes that will remain in place until the growth policy is approved.

"If the growth policy is approved on March 19 and we continue to review subdivision applications using the old regulations, the county would be at risk [of a lawsuit]," Harris told the county commissioners on Thursday.

Besides complying with state law, Harris said a major focus of the new regulations is to "get the best information available, so we can do a thorough review and make a good recommendation to the commissioners, and so the public can comment knowledgeably."

Depending on where a project is proposed, developers could be required to provide a stormwater management plan, flood hazard analysis, dust control plan, traffic impact analysis or a fire prevention and control plan.

The environmental assessment has also been beefed up, partly in response to a lawsuit ruling last summer.

"We tried to set some clear criteria, so the subdivision process is more predictable and developers understand coming in what it is we expect," Harris said.

Other significant changes being proposed include:

. Road paving - Previously, the regulations only required 50 feet of paving per lot for internal subdivision roads (except for projects located in air quality districts), and minimal paving of any external access roads, whether public or private.

The new regulations require all internal subdivision roads to be paved, as long as the overall project density is less than 10 acres per lot.

Some paving of the access road will also be required anytime a project generates more than 100 vehicle trips per day (which equals 10 single-family home lots). The amount of paving will be based on the percentage increase in traffic attributable to the new subdivision.

. Late-comers agreement - This is a new option for the county. It creates a mechanism whereby developers could install infrastructure improvements that exceed what's needed for their project alone, and be reimbursed for the cost in the future as other new subdivisions are built.

Kalispell has approved several such agreements in recent years, encouraging developers to extend sewer infrastructure well beyond the city limits in return for a percentage of the connection fees as new projects tap into the lines in the future.

. Public notice - Anytime developers submitted subdivision applications, the old regulations required them to notify all landowners within 150 feet of their proposed project.

That same requirement is included in the new regulations. However, the commissioners or planning board now have the added option of requiring developers to post notices on the property itself, so people who live farther than 150 feet away will know something has been proposed.

. Subdivision design standards - Several new requirements have been added to this section.

For example, the old standards said development of agricultural lands must adhere to the agricultural preservation policies contained in the master plan. The new standards say "encroachment or development of prime agricultural lands is strongly discouraged."

In unzoned areas with shallow groundwater (water within 8 feet of the surface), the new standards also set a minimum lot size of five acres, unless public water or sewer service is available.

The draft regulations prohibit subdivision roads in the 100-year flood plain, except in a few limited circumstances. For subdivisions proposed in high fire-hazard areas, two separate access roads will be required.

Many of these new standards are based directly on policies contained in the new growth policy.

Harris acknowledged that the new regulations could make it more expensive to build new subdivisions - thus making it even more difficult to develop affordable housing - but he maintained that the cost of land here is a much bigger hurdle for such projects.

"I thought about that as we went through these [regulations], but I wouldn't waive the requirements at the expense of getting good information upfront," he said. "Everyone has a right to know what the potential impacts are from a subdivision, and how those impacts are going to be resolved."

Copies of the new and old regulations can be found on the Planning Office Web site, at www.co.flathead.mt.us/fcpz/index.html

Reporter Bill Spence may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at bspence@dailyinterlake.com