Board to consider neighborhood plan process

The public will get a chance on Wednesday to weigh in on a new, more detailed process for initiating neighborhood plans.

The Flathead County Planning Board produced the draft after several work sessions over language about neighborhood plans in the growth policy that has been confusing to both the public and some Planning Board members.

Wednesday's public hearing is at the end of the board's agenda for the evening.

At issue is a sentence in the growth policy stipulating that "a clear majority" of landowners and residents desiring a neighborhood plan can take steps to develop a plan. The proposed rewrite clarifies the process.

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.

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.

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.

IN OTHER business Wednesday, the board will consider:

-- A request by Gary Krueger for a zoning text amendment that would add a definition for gravel extraction to include post-extraction processing activities.

-- A request by Solomon/Peyton LLC for a growth policy amendment to the land-use map of the Two Rivers Neighborhood Plan. The applicant wants to change zoning from high density to commercial on 20 acres and from commercial to industrial on another 20 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection of Trumble Creek Road and Rose Crossing.

-- A request by Solomon/Peyton LLC to change the zoning on 116 acres in the Evergreen zoning district from agricultural to 20 acres general business, 20 acres light industrial and 76 acres one-family limited residential. The land is located at the southwest corner of Trumble Creek Road and Rose Crossing.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the second-floor conference room of the Earl Bennett Building, 1035 First Ave. W. in Kalispell.