On Feb. 1, 2005, the Flathead County Commission and Whitefish City Council enacted an interlocal agreement granting Whitefish final planning and land-use authority over a roughly two-mile area surrounding city limits. Within two years, a county commissioner was asking for the agreement to be rescinded.
Since then, the “planning doughnut” issue has devolved into an extended legal battle, bouncing between district court and the Supreme Court, and culminating with the formation of a committee assigned to find a non-litigious solution.
On Oct. 4, the Flathead County Commission unanimously approved a revised interlocal agreement, which had been hammered out by attorneys and the ad-hoc committee. Later that day, after more than four hours of work session and deliberation, the Whitefish City Council decided to postpone voting until its next meeting or later.
Of the roughly 50 people from the public who spoke at the council meeting, about a dozen were in favor of the proposal.
Now, more than five-and-a-half years after the original document was signed, the Whitefish City Council is set to decide the future of the doughnut on Oct. 18 or Nov. 1. On the eve of this landmark decision, the Beacon has decided to look back at the last three years, offering a look at the convoluted timeline of doughnut talks and quotes that accompanied those moments.