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Help Say No to Strip Commercial Sprawl Along All Major Roads In The County.
- Print this petition and ask your friends and neighbors to sign it.
- Forward this email to your friends and neighbors and ask them to email or mail in comments.
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UPDATE: We sent out this alert text below last week, and are including it again for the background you may want to forward on to others (lots of links).
Please forward this email and help rally folks to turn in comments. Note that we have attached an easier & quick form to copy and paste into an email or for sending in your comments by mail. Here is a new link to a map of roads that you can zoom in and out of, that shows red, green, and purple roads in the Flathead that are included in this zone. All comments must be received by the county by 5pm on July 5th. THANK YOU for caring and speaking up!!
Greetings!
Are you surprised that a zone that would allow strip commercial development with some 63 possible uses along all major roads in the county is even being proposed? We were!
This zone, which has been named B-2HG (Highway Green Belt), also includes the open-ended catch-all category for "general retail establishments up to 5000 sq ft" and a conditional use permit (usually just a formality with an automatic approval) for "any building greater than 3000 sq ft" along all major county roads (including many remote and currently rural roads---be sure to click on this road link; we think you will be amazed at the roads that are included).
In these challenging economic times the Flathead needs to attract tourists and new business investments to sustain our local economy. Studies show that Geotourism is a promising and growing segment of the economy in the Flathead. But countless studies also show that opening the door to strip commercial development along our major county roads is a recipe for turning the Flathead, over time, into an unappealing Anywhere, USA hodgepodge of strip development that discourages investment now and in the future, undermines the character of the valley and the economic health of our existing downtown areas.
We expected the commissioners would follow the county planning board's lead in recommending denial of this zone requested by six land owners along Hwy 93, but instead they added even more commercial uses, clarified what roads it would apply to, and passed a 30 day resolution of intent to adopt this policy. This protest period ends July 5th, and it is very important that you take time to comment.
We believe the county commissioners share a desire to keep the Flathead a dynamic place to live, visit, and invest, and we sincerely hope they will realize what began as a proposal to meet the needs of a small group of land owners on Highway 93, has mushroomed into an overly large proposal for a new zone that affects all major county roads.
This so called "new tool for the tool box," as the planning office refers to this B2-HG zone, is actually a Pandora's box of unintended consequences that can not be closed by individual zoning hearings on a parcel by parcel basis. This is especially true when the main criteria for approval is simply having property on one of the roads to which the zone is tied.Click here for how we believe this new zone would harm and impact the Valley
Additionally, a review of the so called Green Belt Standards show that because they allow for up to 50% of the green belt to be used for parking they actually provide no more or less setbacks than most other business zones in the county. Signs can also go in this Green Belt area and be as tall as the building on site or up to 35 feet tall.
The real issue, however, is should our highways be open to a pattern of continuous strip development or should we develop standards for limited nodes of commercial development along our highways while directing commercial growth primarily into our existing towns and cities?
A better solution, is for the county to work with the cities of Whitefish and Kalispell who have actively been asking to be part of a comprehensive corridor study for Hwy 93 between Kalispell and Whitefish. The county can provide important leadership in working with the cities of Kalispell and Whitefish. The seven vision elements of the county growth policy call on our local government leaders to show they can establish development standards and policies to guide future growth in the Highway 93 corridor to avoid a pattern of strip commercial development connecting Whitefish and Kalispell. Let's find a solution for this section of Highway 93 before new zoning is considered for other county roads.
According to an article in Sunday's Daily Interlake, Commissioner Dale Lauman says he..."is waiting to hear from county residents with opinions about the zone classification. "We'll see what the 30 days bring us," he said. "If it brings a lot of protest, then we'll take that into consideration. It's wait and see now."
Please take a few minutes send comments now. If you need more information or give us a call at 756-8993. Under state law to protest a zoning proposal you must include your full name and address (the address you are registered to vote at). - First click here to review and fill in a sample text for your protest or comments.
- Then copy and paste your completed sample text into an email to the County Commissioners by Clicking here to send comments. Comments are to be emailed to: Diana Kile
Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
dkile@flathead.mt.gov
(406)758-5537 They can be mailed to 800 S. Main Kalispell, MT 59901 - Click here to view a map of zoned areas in the county to determine if you live in a zoned area as this is one of the questions you must answer. (Zoned areas include all red, bright greens, pinks, yellows, blues, & diagonal lined areas including the white Helena Flats Area.)
- Under state law if 40% of the property owners in county zoned areas protest the new zone, it may not be adopted. But because this new zone will effect all county residents including city residents we urge everyone (including city residents, residents in county zoned or unzoned areas, and renters who may not yet own property) to send in comments to the County Commissioners.
- Please Do Not Procrastinate. Send your comments today!!
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