COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SAY, OVER
THE COMING MONTHS, THEY PLAN TO
INTRODUCE A MAJOR
UPDATE TO THE COUNTY'S ZONING
SYSTEM.M-T-N'S JONATHON
AMBARIAN HAS A CLOSER LOOK AT
WHAT IS BEHIND THIS PUSH.




{COUNTY COMMISSIONERS JIM
MCCORMICK AND SUSAN GOOD GEISE
SAY THEY DIDN'T ORIGINALLY
INTEND TO TACKLE ZONING
RULES.}{BUT THEY'VE CONCLUDED
IT'S AN ISSUE THAT CAN'T BE
AVOIDED.}{CG: JIM MCCORMICK,
LEWIS CLARK COUNTY
COMMISSIONER}{“WE HAVE GOTTEN TO
A POINT, BECAUSE OF DENSITY AND
BECAUSE OF PROJECTED GROWTH IN
THE VALLEY, IT'S
TIME, WE CAN NO LONGER AVOID
THAT CONVERSATION.”}{THE COUNTY
CURRENTLY HAS 35
DISTRICTS WHERE SO-CALLED “PART
ONE” ZONING HAS BEEN
IMPLEMENTED.}{THAT
MEANS RESIDENTS ASKED THE COUNTY
FOR ZONING RULES TO ADDRESS
SPECIFIC CONCERNS.}{BUT LEADER
SAY THAT IS NO LONGER
SUFFICIENT.}{CG: SUSAN GOOD
GEISE, LEWIS CLARK COUNT
COMMISSIONER}{“IT IS REACTIVE IN
NATURE.
THAT AUTOMATICALLY AND
INESCAPABLY SETS UP
CONFLICTS BETWEEN DEVELOPERS AND
LONG- TIME RESIDENTS.”}{NOW,
COMMISSIONERS SAY IT IS
TIME TO IMPLEMENT “PART TWO”
ZONING ACROSS THE HELENA VALLEY,
ROADS, FIRE PROTECTION AND
FLOODING.}{THEY ALSO HOPE TO
ENSURE PREDICTABILITY FOR
VALLEY.”}{THE COUNTY PLANNING
DEPARTMENT HAS ALREADY
BEGUN PRELIMINARY WORK ON
ZONING.}{COMMISSIONERS SAY THEY
DON'T WANT TO
IMPOSE NEW REGULATIONS “FROM THE
TOP DOWN.”}{THEY PLAN TO WORK
WITH DEVELOPERS,
BUSINESS OWNERS, AND RESIDENTS
AS THEY PUT THE PROPOSAL
TOGETHER.}{“WE'RE NOT
JUST GOING TO INFORM PEOPLE WHAT
WE'RE DOING, WE ARE GOING TO
CONSULT WITH
PEOPLE.”}{“WE'RE GOING TO TAKE
AS MUCH TIME AS WE NEED TO GET
IT RIGHT, NOT QUICKLY, BUT DONE
CORRECTLY.”}{IN HELENA, JONATHON
AMBARIAN, M-T-N NEWS.}{###}




[(***ACURTIS***)]COMMISSIONERS
SAY THIS ZONING PROCESS
[(***ACURTIS***)]COMMISSIONERS
SAY THIS ZONING PROCESS IS
LIKE
TO TAKE MONTHS.GEISE SAID SHE
HOPES IT WILL BE COMPLETED B
2020.###
