THE VOTE FOR responsible planning in Sanders County Tuesday, June 3, 2008 WAS DEFEATED!     A Sanders County Planning board will: Prevent unfair tax burdens on citizens Protect property rights and values Preserve traditional community values

Have you considered?

PLANNED GROWTH CAN ATTRACT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Responsibly planned growth attracts economic development.  Arthur Anderson Consulting asked business executives why they chose to locate where they did.  The majority responded it was the high quality of life that responsibly planned development brings to an area.

PLANNING WHICH INCLUDES WATER CLARITY IMPROVES PROPERTY VALUES

"In two Maine studies, declining water clarity was shown to reduce the lakefront property values. A 3-foot difference in average minimum water clarity was associated with property value declines of up to 22 percent….A similar study showed a direct relationship between property values and water clarity for Minnesota lakes.”

[report of Minnesota Dept. Natural Resources research scientist]

BENEFITS ARE GREATER WITH PLANNING

Although many controversial issues can arise during planning, the fact remains that benefits are greater with responsible planning and its execution.  That is the conclusion of a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in his book.

MUST THERE BE ZONING?

Data from 1999 discloses that 44 counties in Montana had adopted Growth or Master Plans.  Of these, only 26 included zoning.

FUNDING A PLANNING BOARD

The last Planning Board in Sanders County received a $15,000 CDBG grant and almost all members donated their time freely.  Various grants are still available for funding Planning Boards.

COST OF PREPARING OR UPDATING A GROWTH PLAN OR MASTER PLAN

The cost was $14,300 a year in Jefferson County.  In Stillwater County it was $20,000.  In Gallatin $20,000.  Helena was $20,075.  This is a monstrous level below the claims of some opponents who throw out figures with six digits. 

Since most of Montana Counties already have a planning board, Sanders County should be able to use some of those as a base from which to begin and thereby save additional costs.  It should also be pointed out that many members of that Planning Board did not even take payment for mileage.  Further, it would seem that some of the legwork they did will be useful to the new Planning Board thereby making additional savings.

PLANNING IS NOT NEW TO MONTANA

Citing just a few of the counties in Montana and indicating how long they have a Growth Plan is rather revealing.  Carbon and Broadwater counties have had such plans for  23 or more years old.  Lake County has had it for 18 or more years.  In Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Yellowstone counties it’s been more than 13 years but less than 17.  Bighorn, Flathead, Madison, Stillwater and Missoula have had a plan for more than 9 years but less than 12.   These are 12 of the 15 fastest growing counties in Montana.  Sanders County is the sixth fastest growing and is not in this group.  Perhaps the residents in these other counties saw something that the residents of Sanders County have been ignoring.

Montana Building Industry Association Supports growth Policy and planning board

Our association supports a local government's right to plan. This is different than supporting the details contained within a specific growth policy. But to be clear - we support a local government's ability to have a growth policy and a planning board.
Dustin Stewart, Government Affairs Director, Montana Building Industry Association

There are many economic values to existing residents in Sanders County for having a Planning Board.  For instance, consider “Initial costs to existing residents of adding one person to the average American community is about $15,400.” [Carrying Capacity Network study]  To see more, go to DESTROYING A MYTH: Growth Provides Needed Tax Revenue.

We had a booth at the Plains Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair on March 29th.  Many people from the county attended the event.  Click here to see ANSWERS TO ERRONEOUS CLAIMS BY OPPONENTS.

For the most recent articles an news, please go to the Current News page.

At various times we will need help from our supporters.  We hope everyone will donate a little time to helping get this issue passed.