Libby City Council tweaks business district plan

Libby city council members relaxed potential zoning regulations included in controversial proposals for two new commercial districts in town on Oct. 7.

The proposed downtown business district and highway commercial district would ban certain types of stores while adding design standards for new or remodeled shops. The former encompasses the center of Libby while the latter envelopes U.S. 2 at the edges of the city.

Discussion about revising zoning codes is not new, but creating the districts would represent the first change in decades. Critics worry the updates will prove onerous, stifle economic growth and hamstring property owners.

Among the prohibited uses in both districts are mobile homes, bulk fuel storage, cellular towers, commercial storage facilities, cemeteries and crematoriums.

Further restrictions downtown ban adult bookstores and fuel stations with the exception of electric charging stations.

Residential development is limited to the upper floors of buildings, with the lower level dedicated to commercial use.

Other requirements limit the construction of buildings to a height of 45 feet.

Any proposed building with a footprint of more than 5,850 square feet would require a public hearing and design review by the city planning board.

Among the most contentious are regulations relating to aesthetics, building materials and parking lots.

“Zoning does not go to the level of dictating the [paint] color,” said former city councilor D.C. Orr, a critic of the plan. “You guys are already overreaching your authority on this one.”

Responding to the criticisms, city council members dropped a few of the more disputed proposals. Edits to the downtown business district made Monday evening include the level of remodeling undertaken for a project to trigger the new regulations.

Under the previous version of the plan, all existing structures would be grandfathered in, but any refurbishing effort encompassing more than 10 percent of a building’s exterior would require the owner to adhere to the new rules.

Council members removed that section and discussed guidelines for permissible exterior building materials. Plain concrete block and asphalt shingle siding remain on the list of banned materials.

The council also removed a section requiring new parking lots contain 10 percent of landscaping within their confines and nixed a ban on solid fencing over the objection of City Councilor Kristin Smith.

“It speaks to what a person experiences when they go downtown,” Smith said. “The point is to have buildings with activity and commerce.”

On a philosophical level, critics argued the zoning regulations represent undo government interference on private property.

“We don’t want to answer to some panel about how we remodel our buildings or what we panel them with,” said resident Frank Fahland. “Let these business owners conduct business as they see fit.”

Mayor Brent Teske directed city staff to redraft the proposal to reflect the changes before city council takes it up again.