Committee Works through Final Element

SWAN VALLEY - The Swan Valley Regional Planning Committee discussed the Implementation Element at their last meeting Nov. 19. Planner Robert Horne expects to have a complete draft for the committee to review at the December meeting.

The Implementation Element outlines the processes and procedures and identifies the partnerships and collaborations needed to get things done. In the opening paragraph it states there are multiple methods and techniques to implement the plan but the community has opted not to recommend regulations.

Swan Valley resident Gary Lazarowski questioned the value-based approach that the committee has adopted. He is concerned that without giving any other guidance, other than best management practices (BMP) and value-based recommendations, the plan has no directive power.

The committee responded that the value-based versus regulatory approach was adopted based on what they heard from the community during the envisioning process and at the more recent neighborhood meetings.

Committee co-chair Cilla Moseley said she felt values did have power. Committee member Dave Johnson said he felt that values allowed more opportunity to negotiate and discuss different development opportunities.

“This plan is a calling card, a communication tool. That’s how it is implemented,” said Horne. “People don’t have to do it [follow the BMPs or values outlined in the plan] in the absence of regulations.”

The committee agreed to continue with this approach and hopes that if they were wrong in this approach it will come out in the comments on the draft plan.

Lazarowski also spoke in favor of identifying areas by specific land use housing densities, like was done in the 1996 plan. At a previous meeting, Swan Valley resident Ken Donovan proposed the idea of a designated commercial development area in the 1.2-mile strip between Highway 83 and the river from the Mission Mountain Mercantile to Cold Creek Road.

Horne reminded everyone that he was instructed to remove areas identified as “areas for potential growth.” The areas that he had presented to the committee a few months ago were areas that were “not so rich in values and should be considered for development first.”

The committee agreed that it would be too difficult to properly identify land use densities and did not want to identify areas for development or the commercial development area.

The committee also discussed section 7.4 Cooperating Agency Status. The public in attendance was split on whether this should be included in the plan.

Some said that they did not want the Swan Valley Community Council speaking for the whole valley to the federal land management agencies and felt that everyone has the right to public comment and should take advantage of that. Others pointed out that it was useful during the Holland Lake Day Use and Swan Valley School speed zone discussions to be able to talk directly with the US Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources. Donovan felt that members of the community have a vested interest in their community and know what they want versus the county government.

Committee member Diann Ericson was concerned that the council does not have a good enough feel for the majority of the residents to speak on their behalf.

Horne said that including this in the document does not give the council cooperating agency status, it is merely a request of the county for a memorandum of understanding (MOU). He added, “The reason for the MOU is that the law says that only the governing body can use the growth policy to get coordinating or cooperating agency status. What the MOU would do would give the governing body in these specific instances, will let [the Swan Valley Community Council] speak for your community directly to the agencies without having to filter it through us [the Missoula County Commissioners].”

“I think it’s opening up a can of worms,” said Lazarowski.

“Some people agreed that there are issues that affect the community and it would be better to have a community body speak for the people,” said Moseley.

The committee remembered that they had agreed on including this in the plan last year. Despite Ericson’s concerns they unanimously agreed to leave the section as written.

By the next meeting, Horne expects to have presented the committee with the entire draft of the plan including an introduction, table of contents and the seven elements. The committee will discuss any revisions and decide how they plan to present the document to the community for comment.

The next meeting will be Dec. 9 at the Swan Valley Community Hall at 4 p.m.