Who's Paying for the Signs?
Ravalli County Anti-Zoning Campaign Draws Scrutiny
By Robert Struckman, 10-22-08
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Hot land politics and alleged campaign shenanigans in Ravalli County spurred Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices to pay a personal visit yesterday, writes reporter John Cramer in the Ravalli Republic.
Before hearing concerns from locals, Commissioner Dennis Unsworth drove around and saw several campaign signs aimed at preventing zoning and streamside setback regulations. Unsworth said the signs seemed to avoid disclosing who paid for them. The state has four ongoing investigations about political practices in Ravalli County and fields more than a dozen complaints a day, Cramer reported.
The state’s most pressing investigation in Ravalli County concerns the Higher Ground Foundation, a nonprofit group that is urging voters to repeal the growth policy in an effort to prevent zoning and streamside setback regulations from being adopted later.
At issue is whether Higher Ground is a nonprofit educational group, as its officials say, or an organization formed to influence a ballot initiative, which also may be the case, judging from the group’s significant efforts to get county voters to reject zoning and other regulation at the polls this November. Commissioner Unsworth has asked the group to describe its broader educational efforts to prove that its purpose is not primarily political. It’s not clear how far the investigation will go before the election or how an eventual violation, if such is found, will play out in policy. For instance, Unsworth said the group might be fined, but nothing was said about whether a violation would discount the election results.
These points are not merely academic. Nonprofit educational groups don’t have to disclose their funding. Political issue groups do.
Funding sources are important, because sometimes an interest group will portray itself as an effort largely supported by the public when in reality it is bankrolled by a few individuals or a business. That was the case with a proposed WalMart Supercenter near Hamilton a few years ago. The company secretly spent $115,000 to repeal a zoning rule that kept it from building the store. (WalMart later decided against building a store there.)
Unsworth ruled that Ravalli County Citizens for Free Enterprise was a Wal-Mart front-group that violated financial reporting and record-keeping laws.
Ravalli County, one of Montana’s more conservative areas politically and one in which growth has been pell-mell, regularly sees controversy and sometimes actions beyond the pale.
“Land-use issues have a long history of being very contentious in Montana, but this is extraordinary,” Unsworth said, “I don’t know if there’s something in the water here, but I think it’s because of the level of growth and the interest by some parties.”
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Comments
I did notice that the salary for the Director was open according to qualifications....I sure hope that whoever they get to fill this job knows what they are stepping into and are up for the job...
Best of luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Planning Director
Hamilton, MT
Level: Mid II (4-8 years)
Company / Agency: Ravalli County Planning Department
Job Category: Community Development and Redevelopment
Salary Range: Open
AICP: Preferred
Job Description
Located in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley of western Montana, Ravalli County is seeking qualified applicants for Planning Director.
This position offers an exciting opportunity to plan for a growing rural community. The Planning Director will oversee all functions of the Ravalli County Planning Department including current and long range planning, policy development, zoning, housing and community development, environmental review, and code enforcement. Experience and/or education in land use planning are required.
Salary Range is DOE. Full County benefits apply.
This full-time professional position is exempt from overtime law and will be open until filled.
Visit http://www.ravallicounty.mt.gov/hr for a complete job description and application requirements.
Contact Information
Contact Name: Bitterroot Job Service
Phone: (406) 363-1822
Website http://www.ravallicounty.mt.gov/hr
Postal Address:
Ravalli County Planning Department
333 W. Main Street
Hamilton, MT 59840
You should note that this has been changing over the past 10-15 years. Every election cycle the gap between conservatives and moderates closes a bit more. We now have a non-Republican majority in the county commission, for example (2 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 2 Republicans.
Both of the Republican seats are up for re-election this year, and Democrats John Meakin and Roger Dehaan both have a real shot at those seats against Republicans Greg Chillcott and J.R. Iman). The last time the zoning issue was put to Ravalli County voters two years ago, it passed with 60% approval.
Chris Daniel is also owner of InFocus, a local consulting, public relations and marketing firm that put together anti-zoning/streamside setback Ads earlier this year that caused a stir in the Bitterroot Valley.
Streamside Setback Committee Chairman Clay Dethlefesen told the Ravalli Republic on 5/21/08 that the InFocus' Ad was inflammatory and misleading. "It's clear InFocus has no regard for fair play and honest informing. It's a scare tactic and in doing so, they are insulting the elderly and the handicapped. It's outlandish and unfair to the general public."
According to a 10/8/08 article in the Bitterroot Star, another recent Ad against Streamside Setbacks was:
"placed by the Higher Ground Foundation, a non-profit group headed up by Terri Daniel. Tom Robak, a staunch opponent of setbacks who has paid for advertisements against any regulations, said that he was spending a lot of money to run ads to get his input across and they seemed to be successful so far."
Mr. Robak is the founder of the Big Sky Coalition, Environmentalists with Common Sense. Mr. Robak has also been accused of illegally building his house in the floodway of the Bitterroot River (see: http://www.newwest.net/main/article/big_sky_coalition_founder_built_home_in_floodway).
According to a 5/12/08 article in the Republic: "Ravalli County is alleging that one of the founders of the Big Sky Coalition built his house in the floodway of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River. County officials believe that Tom Robak's house sits in the actual floodway, not just the floodplain, and that "significant" amounts of fill have been placed. Placing fill and building in floodplains and floodways is strictly prohibited, and if the county is correct, it will require Robak to move the house."
It's also worth noting that Dan Floyd, treasurer of Higher Ground Foundation, has been accused by Ravalli County Planning Department of violating county floodplain regulations. There is a court case regarding this issue that folks can check out at this link:
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:V2DfDqj6v4UJ:www.ravallicounty.mt.gov/commissioners/correspondence/2007/06_June/06-1820-20Ravalli20County20vs.20Floyd20and20Renascent,20Inc..pdf+Renascent+Inc,+nevada&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a
So, when you look at the issue squarely, it appears that some of most vocal opponents of Ravalli County's proposed streamside setbacks have allegedly violated current floodplain regulations. Maybe that's why they are bankrolling efforts to kill the proposed steamside setback and zoning efforts.
I have been involved in the "mapping fiasco" of citizens
so-called input that was never heard by the Commissioners.
I have been to countless meetings. I was part of a private group of neighbors that for the first time in Montana history came together to self-zone 5,000 acres. I am Secretary of Citizens for Property Rights. Why? Because I can't believe this is happening to our land without input. Railroading while placating.
My land is being devalued by changing the voted interim law of one house per two acres to only one house per 40 acres. This is
a crime. The STATE LAW IS ONE HOUSE PER ONE ACRE!!
You all need to google AGENDA 21 and follow where this has
come from. It's a national agenda that encourages counties with federal grants if they can zone folks to have growth around the town; have the farmers leave open lands for the government OR
a conservation group can get ahold of it, trade it for another
piece of land in another state.
The homeowners in subdivisions don't understand what is going
on, or the losses to farmers and landowners over 20 acres.
I attended two streamside setback meetings:
Oct 21 '08 Ben Hillicoss said "this regulation was created to protect the existing homes" (What about everyone else that hasn't built?)
Oct 7 '08 Roger DeHann said "perhaps the existing homes on the waterways will be at a premium after this regulation goes in" (This means everyone else who builds afterward, 250 ft back with no views will be devalued by the streamside setback regulation)
*NOTE - a Streamside handout states that 53% of those
on the committee have waterfront homes.
Their homes are protected, and will command a premium value.
The Growth Policy has 3 spikes:
1. Streamside Setbacks
2. Zoning 53 visible pgs (450 pages hidden)
3. 93 Corridor - with viewsheds like Sun Valley (no signs, no businesses, no visible homes. (Where is a gas station? I have to go to the bathroom!) Folks, this isnt Sun Valley...mega
20 million dollar homes 5 feet from the river, workers live out of the city and return to service the rich each morning.
The 3 spikes are all tied together and inter-relate by phrases and ordinances. Anybody that tells you other that this is , well......
The history of my ancestors will not allow me to be quiet....
Lucretia Coffin Mott opened and closed the Women's Right to Vote Ralley in Seneca Falls, NY 1848, and my Great Grandfather,
Levi Coffin was President of the Underground Railroad, hung out
with Abe Lincoln. What would they tell me to do?
Make a fuss, until the eyes of the world are upon you.
Niki Coffin Sardot
Bitterroot Valley Resident
Mr. Robak owns a number of properties in the Bitterroot all under slightly different names...for example Thomas Robak, Tomas Robak, Tommy Robak, etc. Does that strike anyone as particularly fishy? It it would certainly be interesting to know where they are (ie are they also river-front?).
Mr. Robak came from San Luis Obispo, California, where it appears that he and his wife are still active members of the San Luis Yacht Club. According to the Yacht Club's fall 2007 newsletter on Page 6 it notes that last December 7th the Bar Hosts were Char and Tom Robak.
In case you didn't know, "Common Sense Environmentalists" usually have Yacht Club memberships. Maybe the Robak's figure their Yacht Club membership will come in handy since they built their home right in the floodway of the West Fork of the Bitterroot River.
Or perhaps they will use their helicopter to escape the rising floodwaters. A copy of Robak's registration record for his helicopter is here:
http://montana.aircraftdata.net/record/8626F/robak-thomas-l.aspx
Then again, perhaps they better stick to their Yacht Club membership, since it appears Mr. Robak's helicopter crashed at the Coeur d'Alene airport.
See: http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=142649
The information above is available to anyone with a little research skills and a computer. You would think a full-time journalist would come with those skills. Unfortunately, none of this information made it into the multiple fawning Missoulian articles about Mr. Robak and his Big Sky Coalition: Environmentalists with Common Sense. For example: http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/10/21/news/local/news03.txt
No mention of the Robak's allegedly illegally building their home in the floodway. No mention of the properties owned under slightly different names. Nothing about the Yacht Club membership back in San Luis Obispo or the helicopter. Nothing...just that the Robak's are "Common Sense Environmentalists"...oh, and that environmental groups are responsible for all the wildfires.