Density map flawed
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Last week the Lake County Commissioners held a public meeting to hear public comment related to a Resolution of Intent adopted by the Commissioners to repeal the Lake County Density Map and the regulations that accompany the map. I would like to take this opportunity to present what I believe to be the major flaws in the Density Map and regulations.
In 1999 the Montana legislature mandated that all counties in the state write a Growth Policy. The Growth Policies were not to be a set of regulations imposed upon county residents, but rather a vision, or set of goals, that citizens of the county hoped to achieve in the future. Lake County complied with the new law and in 2003 adopted a Growth Policy. The introduction to the Growth Policy maintains that the policy incorporated information from dozens of planning meetings, hundreds of pages of written comments and countless hours of public testimony. Information from surveys conducted by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes were also taken into account by the writers of the Growth Policy.
Lake County then took the additional step of writing and adopting in 2005, a set of regulations and an accompanying map, called a Density Map, that was intended to enable the county to achieve the goals stated in the Growth Policy. Again, the map and regulations were the results of a collaborative effort carried out by Lake County citizens and the Lake County Planning Board. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes were actively involved in writing the regulations and producing the Density Map. Lake County even took the unusual step of amending the Lake County Planning Board by-laws to create a position for a Tribal representative on the Board who could cast a vote on any Board action.
Last year when the Lake County Commissioners initiated a long overdue review of the map and regulations, one overarching question drove the review: Did the map and regulations achieve the goals of the Growth Policy? After many hours of study and discussion, my answer to this question was “no.”
Specific examples of some of the important goals not achieved are included in the bulleted list below:
—Page 48 of the Growth Policy under Land Use Goals and Objectives states: “Develop policies in conjunction with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes that apply equally to tribal and non-tribal lands and peoples. On page 1 of the Density Map Regulations it clearly states that the regulations apply only to lands “that fall under the jurisdiction of Lake County.” Can we honestly say that we are protecting our open space, wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, etc., when we have regulations that apply to less than half of the land in Lake County?
—Page 51 of the Growth Policy under Land Use Goals and Objectives the stated goal is: “Allow outdoor advertising in specific locations along highway corridors but ensure that the advertising does not diminish the visual environment that is integral to a high quality of life and economic development.” Presently, there are no guidelines in place in Lake County that regulate outdoor advertising, nor have any discussions taken place to address outdoor advertising. The state of Montana has ceded control of outdoor advertising on the reservation to the CSKT and Lake County has followed the state’s lead.
—Page 118 (a) under Intergovernmental Coordination the stated task is: “Help municipalities and water and sewer districts develop and expand infrastructure.” Lake County has no money to put towards new infrastructure planning. The county is lagging behind in maintaining our present infrastructure. The Density Map and regulations strive to drive development to areas where infrastructure is in place to handle new growth. There has been no new infrastructure because there is no money available for planning and construction.
There are many other goals and objectives written into the Growth Policy that were not addressed by the Density Map and regulations since the document only addresses the creation of new parcels of land in the county. If it is determined that comprehensive land planning regulations are desired by Lake County citizens, then the planning must address more than the creation of new parcels. And, if the regulations have any hope of achieving the desired outcomes, they must apply to all lands in Lake County equally, regardless of ownership.
