By Jason Stuart
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
After languishing for over a year, the new Glendive/Dawson County Growth Policy is finally completely official.
The Dawson County Commissioners gave their approval to the new growth policy at their meeting Sept. 27, the last approval the policy required before going into effect. The Glendive City Council had already approved the growth policy at their first meeting in August.
The road to final approval of the new growth policy was a long and arduous one. Commissioner Gary Kartevold asked County Planner Dianna Broadie when the process of developing the new policy had started, and she replied that it had actually begun before she was even hired by the county in late 2013.
The breakdown of the previous city/county planning board was the primary reason for the delay in the growth policy. Without a functioning planning board, the process of vetting the new growth policy ground to a halt. It took the city and county nearly two years to work out their differences and come to an agreement on the formation of a new joint planning board. That new planning board gave its approval to the growth policy in July.
Before the commissioners voted to adopt the policy, County Clerk Shirley Kreiman asked Broadie if there had been any major changes to the final version over the previous drafts the county had received prior to the new planning board’s formation.
Broadie responded that it had “definitely” changed, specifically pointing out the inclusion of a future land use map in the policy as a major addition. She said that could come in handy if the county ever implemented zoning in the unincorporated areas surrounding Glendive.
“This would definitely help guide things if zoning were ever put into place,” Broadie said.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Kartevold added.
Another change over previous versions of the policy Broadie pointed to is the inclusion of a map listing potential “rails to trails” routes to increase the community’s offering of biking and walking trails.
“Basically it’s a direction to go ... if we ever got one of those (rails to trails) grants,” she said.
Kreiman posited that having the “rails to trails” map in the growth policy might actually help the community when applying for those grants.
Broadie agreed, noting that having the growth policy officially in place will help the community when applying for those and other grants.
Commissioner Adam Gartner thanked Broadie for the work she put in on the growth policy, especially considering the long road it took to finally get it done.
“Dianna was put in a pretty poor position with all the issues we had ... she struggled through it and we finally got it done,” Gartner said.
“It was a long struggle,” Kartevold added.
Reach Jason Stuart at rrreporter@rangerreview.com.