Plenty of differences between original neighborhood plan and 2009 revision

The Lakeside Neighborhood Plan revision was forwarded to the Flathead County Planning Board by the Lakeside Community Council last month, signaling the beginning of the lengthy county process required to enact the document.

After reading through and discussing comments given on the plan at length, members of the council and the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan Committee agreed that a breakdown and explanation should be given concerning the differences between the original neighborhood plan and the revision that is now in the hands of planning board members.

The 1994 plan represented a grass roots, citizen-initiated planning effort, while the 2009 revision came about as the result of a mandate by Flathead County that required existing neighborhood plans to be updated and made to comply with the new growth policy that was adopted in 2007.

The county's growth policy requires that a number of sections be included in all neighborhood plans. Some of these, like the section describing the plans designated boundaries, did not necessitate any changes in content (i.e. the Lakeside Neighborhood Plan boundaries did not change).

However, in sections like "Essential Community Characteristics," the language of the 1994 plan was found to be too vague. The 2009 revision includes a detailed history of the area and other data collected via the 2008 survey and subsequent interviews.

Other sections, like a community vision and existing conditions, were either completely missing from the 1994 plan or missing key components. Whereas the 1994 plan did not include a community vision, the 2009 revision developed a vision from the survey results and input gathered during public workshops.

Under the "Existing Conditions" section, information concerning demographics, economy, natural environment, land ownership, goals and policies and other support information was all missing from the 1994 plan.

The 2009 revision, however, includes in-depth analysis of information gleaned from the survey for demographics, a focus on commerce and commercial aspects of Lakeside's designated planning area, detailed maps denoting public and private land ownership, among other information.

Under "Housing Needs," the 1994 plan contains very little information, whereas the 2009 revision contains detailed descriptions of current land use, issues and opportunities, as well as maps and analysis based on survey results and interviews.

Under "Transportation," a detailed section on roads and highways, not limited to the Highway 93 corridor, was added.

In the way of local and public facilities, the 1994 plan provides a brief description of water and sewer, schools, the QRU and volunteer fire department, and law enforcement agencies and departments. However, the 2009 revision provides detailed descriptions, including issues and opportunities, for each of these services, as well as an assessment of the Lakeside Community Council.

The 1994 plan was also lacking in content that outlines "Issues and Opportunities" within the Lakeside community, identifying some issues but no opportunities. The recent revision, on the other hand, identifies issues and opportunities throughout the document, in each section and for each topic, including current and future land use.

The 1994 plan recommended the development of a Land Use Development Code, which resulted in the Lakeside Zoning District for downtown Lakeside. However, no other land use or growth specifications were outlined to indicate appropriate locations for various types of anticipated growth. The recent revision defines seven land use categories, which are described in detail, along with land use densities and maps.

Though neighborhood plans are non-regulatory, they are often used as a groundwork guide for future zoning districts. The 1994 plan helped establish the Lakeside Community Council and the Lakeside development code that resulted in the downtown zoning district.

The revised plan builds on this by outlining specific implementation strategies for each of the topics contained in the document, as well as current and future land use - a portion of the plan that plays a significant role under the county's growth policy.

The 1994 plan also includes some policies for monitoring the ongoing and practical application of the plan, but contains no goals that would provide specific direction. That is where the revised plan comes through on a much wider scale by describing specific responsibilities given to the community council that help the council serve the community more actively and, thus, more effectively.

Lastly, while amendment procedures are vague in the original plan, the new plan details a specific procedures that strictly adhere to the requirements of Flathead County and the 2007 growth policy.