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Whitefish board renames sessions "growth policy meeting," seeks training and staff support
Summary
The Whitefish Community Development Board voted to rename its work sessions to "growth policy meetings," and members pressed for more training, clearer staff resources and possible additional meetings to complete the city's growth policy work.
The Whitefish Community Development Board voted on June 19 to retitle recurring work sessions as "growth policy meetings," a procedural change members said better reflects the meeting content and the fact that decisions are being reached in that forum.
"I move to change work session to growth policy meeting," a board member said; the motion passed on a unanimous voice vote. Board members said the new name will create clearer expectations for the public and help ensure minutes and records reflect substantive deliberations.
Members also discussed training and staffing for the ongoing growth-policy rewrite. Several board members, noting they are relatively new to land-use decision-making, urged more formal training and cited guidance documents. "When I read the [Montana planning board member handbook] ... I saw plenty of things in there that I'd never really known or understood before," one board member said, noting the handbook and other Department of Commerce resources can help clarify the planning board's role. Another member quoted the statute placing responsibility on the planning board: "the planning board shall prepare a growth policy," and said that clause guided the board's understanding of responsibilities.
Board members asked staff about extra resources for the growth policy project. Planning staff said drafting assistance has been provided by multiple staff members and that the city has released (or will release) an RFP for a consultant to assist with the land-use chapter. Board discussion included a suggestion that planning staff add a second person to the growth-policy project; staff cautioned that assignments depend on city priorities and availability and that the board should avoid directing staff directly.
Board members also agreed to be willing to add extra meetings if needed to complete review of the growth policy chapters. "If it gets to a point where...we've got a lot of stuff to get through, we may be adding multiple meetings," planning staff said.
The board scheduled the next regular meeting and asked staff to place both postponed variance hearings on the July 17 agenda. Several members said they welcomed additional training opportunities and would press for clearer process guidance as the board continues work on the growth-policy rewrite.
Quotations in this article are taken from the June 19 meeting transcript.
