Next Wednesday, the Great Falls City Commission will consider suspending the Design Review Board for a six-month period.
The Design Review Board is made up of community members appointed by the city commission to review parking and landscaping requirements for new developments.
Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon said the suspension would reduce work for the Planning and Community Development Department that is already short-staffed.
Right now, developers must meet with the Design Review Board before they can get a building permit.
Doyon said the board’s recommendations are not binding and the review process could be managed more efficiently by planning and development staff.
“People would say, ‘Well isn’t that going to create more work for them?’ They’re already doing a lot of that work to get the board prepped anyways, now they’ll just be able to work with the applicant right up front when they come in,” said Doyon. “Instead of coordinating and scheduling a meeting or maybe doing any follow-ups from a meeting that will all be taken care of in the office.”
Doyon added that a combination of staff vacancies and a large number of complex projects are threatening to bog down development because of the added time spent on the Design Review Board.
-Reported by Joe Huisinga/MTN News
