Planning

Ravalli County commissioners adopted revisions to their subdivision regulations Monday and the changes included a significant move toward long-range planning.

Now, instead of having the county Planning Board hold public hearings and review subdivision applications, that duty will fall directly to the county commissioners.

The subdivision regulations revisions were due Oct. 1, and for the past several weeks, the revisions have been a top priority for a swamped Ravalli County planning office. Two weeks ago, the commissioners and planning board had a joint meeting to discuss the revisions. That meeting was continued until Monday.

The change in direction for the planning board is welcome, said board chairman Dan Huls. With the amount of growth the county is experiencing, the planning board has become more like a subdivision review board, Huls said. 

[more]

elections and planning

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. 

[more]

Growth and Development

If you want to have a say in the regulation of development around Missoula, here’s your chance. The Mayor's Office and the City Clerk's Office are taking applications for volunteer positions on the new Impact Fee Advisory Committee.

As growth continues to shape the landscape of Missoula County, appropriate allocation of resources is an integral piece of the development puzzle. Under Senate Bill 185, which legislators passed in 2005, local governments can impose fees on new development to help fund public infrastructure needed to support the development. State law requires that a local advisory committee meet when there are proposed amendments to impact fee ordinances or resolutions and thus, the creation of the nine-person committee in Missoula County.

The Mayor appoints seven committee members and the City Clerk's office appoints two.  

[more]

Album Review

The last five years have seen a boom of local musicians buying multi-track recorders and software, and converting their basements or spare bedrooms into recording studios. The result has been a few full-length CDs that sound every bit as good as the $18.98 Major Label slabs being delivered by the pallet to Wal-Mart. The line between computer geek and musician has blurred -- that pierced hipster in the trendy glasses you see at the coffee shop just might be mixing down an album on his laptop while he sips his triple mochaccino.

Like my recent release, "American Piehole," (which seems destined to become this generation’s "Sgt. Pepper") "Tom Catmull & the Clerics" is a home-brewed project, one that Catmull has been sweating over for upwards of two years. The majority of it was recorded in Tom’s basement, on his Tascam digital multitracker. Other tracks were recorded here and there, and the whole thing was mixed at his guitarist's kitchen table.

This album has more of a country feel than Catmull's previous releases, but I mean authentic, traditional country. Not that plastic, soft-rock ringtone bait they’re churning out these days in Nashvegas. Right from the first listen, TC&C is polished, confident, and achieves a consistent level of musical and lyrical poise, yet is as comfy and easygoing as an old leather jacket. It’s tasty. It's chewy. Hell, by the fourth song, you want to spread cream cheese on the damn thing and eat it. The aural depth and expansiveness of the mix belie the fact that the album was recorded ten feet from Catmull's washer-dryer. 

[more]

PLANNING IN THE WEST

When you drive around the Helena Valley in central Montana, it's hard to use the word "planning." Because, of course, there hasn't been any. Now, finally, after 15 years of work and frustration, Lewis and Clark Commissioners have decided to do something about it.

On September 12, the commission voted 2-1 to pass the "intent" to implement a sweeping zoning ordinance. It was sweeping in the sense it provides some land use planning in a rapidly growing community where there has been none, but county officials readily admit it's only the first step in guiding growth around Helena.

Like any zoning plan, this one has been burdened with controversy. 

[more]

Thousands were already packed into the skate park by 11:00 a.m. in anticipation of Tony Hawk's arrival. Two hours later he arrived by police escort surrounded by cameras and reporters from Fuse TV, The New York Times and local outlets.

By the time the pros hit the cement the crowd had doubled to an estimated 8,000. Skating fans young and old were crushing the metal barricade around the bowls. Security couldn’t get them to move much. Teenage girls were in the front ranks screaming for “BAM.” Bam Margera, the bad boy of Hawk's troop was in attendance along with skating legend Mike Vallely and Hawk’s son Riley. The bowl demo was followed by the vert-ramp show. The Birdman, as 38-year-old Hawk is known, skated both shows.

New West exculsive video gallery, By Kerry McMannis (all as Quicktime movies):