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Missoula County Rural Initiative

Department: Rural Initiatives
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Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update

Oct 2009 Planning Board Draft - County Commissioner Hearings

NEW! Next Meeting: Thursday, July 29, 6-9 p.m. in Seeley Lake at the Seeley Lake Elementary School, 200 School Lane.

The purpose of the meeting is to take final oral testimony on the draft Plan.

The Board of County Commissioners (BBC) has received public testimony at eight meetings (February 4, February 24, March 3, March 31, April 21, May 19, June 9 and June 16) related to the Seeley Lake Regional Plan October 2009 Planning Board Draft.

 The BCC has set a timeline for final comment on the draft Plan:

After August 20, 2010, the BCC will proceed with deliberations and final decisions on the Plan.

On June 23, 2010, an interagency group (IAG) including Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Plum Creek, USFS and Placid Mission Coalition had a meeting regarding resource protection lands in the draft Seeley Lake Regional Land Use Plan. A draft summary of that meeting is here. This draft was prepared by staff and reviewed by the participants. However, no agreement was reached on the exact wording of the summary. Two draft maps (IAG-1 and IAG-2) reflect the discussions of the IAG. Both maps are draft IAG working documents and do not reflect an agreement as to recommended boundaries or densities.

NEW! Map IAG-4
This map represents Rural Initiatives' understanding of an agreement reached between parities discussing resource protection lands in the Seeley area during meetings on June 23 and July 23, 2010. The parties agreed to recommend the boundaries and densities for resource protection lands as shown on the maps. If needed, further clarification on the maps recommended by the parties will be included as it is received by Rural Initiatives. These maps are only recommendations to the County Commissioners and have not been adopted by the County. Recommendations from other agencies and landowners are being accepted by Missoula County through August 20, 2010.

NEW! Map IAG-5
This map represents Rural Initiatives' understanding of an agreement reached between parities discussing resource protection lands in the Seeley area during meetings on June 23 and July 23, 2010. The parties agreed to recommend the boundaries and densities for resource protection lands as shown on the maps. If needed, further clarification on the maps recommended by the parties will be included as it is received by Rural Initiatives. These maps are only recommendations to the County Commissioners and have not been adopted by the County. Recommendations from other agencies and landowners are being accepted by Missoula County through August 20, 2010.

The IAG meetings were requested by the County Commissioners to provide an opportunity for land management agencies to openly discuss wildlife and fishery issues within the planning area and how resource protection designations might best be applied from a wildlife and fishery management perspective.

The June 16, 2010 Staff Memo includes information about review process, tentative decisions and additional issues.

At the May 19 meeting, the BCC directed staff to write a memo, report and recommendations (May 20, 2010 Staff Memo) regarding resource protection lands including an April 19 proposal from Plum Creek. Agency comment on the Plum Creek proposal can be viewed here. Other recent comment on this and other Plan issues can be viewed here.

The County Commissioners opened their public hearing on the Plan Update on Thursday, February 4 at 6 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Elementary School. They continued the hearing to take further public comment on Wednesday, February 24 at 6 p.m.  Additional meetings are listed below.  Click here for audio and minutes, posted as they are available.

Plan drafts, public and agency comment are available here.

Plan Documents/Staff Reports

At its October 20, 2009 meeting, the Planning Board voted 7-2 to recommend that the Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update, along with Planning Board's recommended changes be adopted by the Missoula Board of County Commissioners.

Hard copies are on file in Seeley Lake at the Barn, the High School, and the Water District, and in Missoula at the County Commissioners Office, the Rural Initiatives Office, and the Office of Planning and Grants. CD copies are available through the Rural Initiatives Office, 258-3432.

Other Related Documents:

Public Comment

All of the written public comment received on the March 2009 Public Hearing Draft will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners. Additional written comment on the October 2009 Planning Board Draft received prior to public hearings will be passed on to the Board of County Commissioners. The public is also encouraged to attend the Board of County Commissioners' public hearing to testify on the Plan.

Please be as specific as possible with comments pertaining to the Plan and, where possible, include page references.  You can direct your comments to:

Missoula Board of County Commissioners
c/o Missoula County Rural Initiatives
200 W. Broadway
Missoula, MT 59802

or via email: ri@co.missoula.mt.us

Additional Information and Next Steps

The next steps are:

The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) has the final authority to adopt, reject, or adopt the Plan with amendments. As with all public documents, the draft may be subject to change based on information received by the BCC prior to their action on the document. Staff encourages Plan Area residents to provide comments throughout the process. Rural Initiatives will be posting available materials here throughout the process and encourages you to check regularly for updates.

For more information on this draft, outstanding issues, plan background and the planning process to date, please see:

Last updated 6-17-2010


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