elections and planning

City Residents in Ravalli County Not Able to Vote on Zoning Ballot Issues

By Greg Lemon, 11-07-06

Voters in Ravalli County’s four municipalities – Darby, Hamilton, Pinesdale and Stevensville – may be surprised this morning as they come to polls and find out they can’t vote on two of the biggest local issues facing all county residents election.

Two ballot measures dealing with zoning are not on the ballots of residents living in the county’s incorporated towns. One measure would repeal an emergency ordinance approved this past summer by county commissioners limiting the size of box stores to 60,000 square feet. The other measure would institute an emergency zoning ordinance limiting development county-wide to one house per two acres.

The box store measure has been a hot topic in the valley for months. The political action group, Citizens for Economic Opportunity petitioned residents and were able to get the issue on the ballot. The whole impetus for the commissioner’s action was Wal-Mart’s interest in building a super store just north of Hamilton. The retail giant is ready to go ahead with building plans, depending on the outcome of the election.

The one-house-per-two-acre measure has also been highly controversial and could significantly impact the way the county handles growth in the next two years.
However, a large number of valley residents won’t be able to cast their votes on either issue.

Ravalli County’s population hovers around 40,000 and about 7,000 people live in these incorporated communities. The measures will have a big effect on these communities, no matter what the outcome is.

The reason these residents can’t vote on the measures is unclear.

It’s apparently because these towns already have zoning in place. But that reasoning is shaky. Everyone gets to vote on county commissioners. Why not these important issues that will could effect big changes to the economic and physical landscape of the county we’re all residents of?

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.