Article published Jun 12, 2007

Commissioners vote to begin amending zoning rules

By KARL PUCKETT

Tribune Staff Writer

After an hour and a half of sometimes testy public testimony, the Cascade County Commission voted 2-0 Monday evening to begin the process of amending the county's zoning regulations.

The move was prompted by a lawsuit following the county's rezoning of land last fall where a coal-fired power plant is planned.

The appropriateness of the Highwood Generating Station, for months a hotly debated subject, inevitably seeped into the technical discussion of the proposed zoning regulation changes.

Attorneys for Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission, the developers, as well as opponents of the plant, attended.

The public now has 30 days to comment before the commission takes a final vote on the proposed changes.

Time is of the essence, Planning Director Brian Clifton said. "We have people on hold," he explained.

Commissioners rezoned the land east of Great Falls last fall. But they later reversed the decision after area landowners, many of them farmers, filed a lawsuit. The suit alleged the use didn't fit the area and the county failed to meet public notice requirements when it rezoned the land.

Now, the county is proposing changes to its zoning regulations designed to make sure public notice requirements are met. The new rules also spell out how the applicants would comply with a 12-step test designed to make sure uses are compatible.

J.C. Kantorowicz, one of the landowners who sued, told commissioners Peggy Beltrone and Lance Olson that "we are very pleased you are doing this." Farmers are worried about the impact of the coal-fired power plant on the land, he said.

"We will be keeping an eye on you," he told the commissioners.

"I hope you do," Olson replied.

Commissioner Joe Briggs was not present at the meeting.

Assistant County Attorney Theresa Diekhans cut short a story being read by Cheryl Reichert, a member of Citizens for Clean Energy, after determining it was more about the coal-fired plant than it was about the proposed regulations.

"I'm talking about the real reason we're all here today," Reichert replied.

Some residents raised concerns that the county accepted a language suggestion from a SME attorney during a previous Planning Board meeting.

SME attorney Mary Jaraczeski countered that SME's overriding goal is to make sure the county's regulations comply with state law.

"SME appeared [at the Planning Board meeting] and made one comment," she said.

Besides the language changes, the county also is proposing to raise fees for special use permits, rezoning applications and conformance permits.