Lake County Growth Policy needs input
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First, I would like to thank the nearly 100 people who attended and participated in the five public meetings held in Ronan, Polson, Proctor, Ferndale, and Arlee. Many thanks also go out to those who helped with our use of buildings and spreading word of the meetings.
There were many productive discussions at these July meetings. If you couldn’t attend a meeting, no worries – there are plenty of opportunities for public participation as the project moves forward.
The general questionnaire and goals and objectives survey are both still on the project website at: www.planlakecounty.com. This is a great way to respond to the questions being asked, and to use as an open forum to say what’s on your mind. Our hope is that people complete the questionnaire and survey by the end of next week. Please participate by Sunday, Aug. 6, if possible, because during the week of Aug. 7, we plan to organize and decipher the input and get plugging away on using your comments to revise goals and objectives, write possible actions, and begin assembling a draft growth policy. If the questionnaire and/or survey are taken down and you still have something to say, shoot me an email at any time. The project website also gives other contact information for the Lake County Commissioners, Planning Department, and Land Solutions. Reach out to us at your convenience.
Please be sure to stay tuned to the project website, where new documents will be shared and information given on future public meetings and hearings. You can also help by spreading the word about this project – forward this email or talk to your friends and neighbors.
We are now transitioning into step three. Helpful information:
What is a growth policy?
A growth policy is a non-regulatory document that evaluates key social, physical, environmental, economic and land use issues that are important to the citizens of Lake County. It contains policy statements and an implementation plan that will aid Lake County Commissioners in making decisions regarding matters in the county jurisdictional areas.
What does a growth policy do?
Growth Policies address much more than just land use. They set priorities for economic development. They are used to be competitive for grants for infrastructure improvements and new or updated plans. They identify changing needs of citizens. They are used to express the county’s issues to federal and state agencies. They act as a work plan for county departments. Why rewrite the growth policy?
Lake County’s Growth Policy was adopted in 2003, and reflects that point in time. A lot has changed here since 2003. The economy and housing market are different, rules have been put into place and worked with, and roads and trails have seen improvements. There have been other plans adopted and implemented. The Lake County Commissioners found that current conditions have made significant updates necessary.
