Somers plan remains on hold

A more detailed explanation of how to begin a county-sanctioned neighborhood plan will be considered by the Flathead County Planning Board at its Oct. 14 meeting.

The draft is the outcome of several work sessions over language in the growth policy that had been deemed confusing and nebulous by both the public and some Planning Board members.

At issue was a sentence in the growth policy stipulating that "a clear majority" of landowners and residents desiring a neighborhood plan could take steps to develop a plan.

"It's not a whole lot different" than what's in the growth policy right now, but the rewrite does clarify a couple of the steps, Planning Director Jeff Harris said. Specifically, the proposal states that if three or more landowners from a neighborhood formally request the Planning Office to hold publicly advertised informational meetings, "that's enough for staff to become involved," Harris said.

The Planning Office will attempt to mail notices to all property owners in the plan area to inform them of initial meetings. Then, if there's enough interest, tentative boundaries may be drawn, Harris said.

The proposal further stipulates that organizers should collect signatures from owners of at least 10 percent of the property within the suggested boundaries and give the petitions to the Planning Office. The 10 percent benchmark triggers the distinction between the informational meetings and moving forward with the planning process, Harris explained.

Ultimately the neighborhood plan must receive broader support. This can be done by having at least half the property owners within the designated area sign a petition, or by having the Planning Office poll neighbors by mailing ballots to all landowners within the area. Sixty percent of respondents must be in favor of the plan, with a minimum of 30 percent responding.

A PROPOSED Somers Neighborhood Plan is on hold until the planning process is clarified, Harris said.

The "clear majority" issue was the crux of controversy surrounding the Somers planning effort and also was used to snuff out an Evergreen neighborhood planning effort earlier this year before it got off the ground.

In June, a meeting of Somers-area property owners - aimed at explaining how the neighborhood planning process works - was shut down and the Sheriff's Office was called when audience members became unruly.

The question asked at the Somers meeting was: "Who gave the county planning office the authority to conduct informational meetings before a majority of landowner support was documented?"

The Planning Board subsequently agreed to tackle a rewrite of the neighborhood plan steps in the growth policy. The county commissioners will have the final say on the rewrite.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com