Lewistown appoints planning commission members under Montana Land Use Planning Act with amended resolution

The Lewistown commission approved Resolution 4219 to nominate and appoint members to a city–county planning commission created under the Montana Land Use Planning Act and the 2024 Lewistown plan, with edits requested by staff.

City Manager Holly Phelps explained she recommended striking two whereas clauses and language referencing county and conservation-district appointees because the city had not yet received formal confirmation from those external bodies. The resolution as amended appoints the city’s slate of four members and leaves multi-jurisdictional confirmations to follow when the county and the conservation district complete their appointments.

Commissioner Robertson moved to adopt the resolution with the edits (removing the two whereas clauses on the first page and striking subsections B and C on page two). The motion carried by roll call.

Phelps said once the county and conservation district complete their appointments a subsequent resolution will be presented to dissolve the prior city–county planning boards and fully launch the new planning commission, which will operate under bylaws and the membership structure set by the statute.

Next steps: staff will publish the amended resolution and track county and conservation-district appointments so the full multi-jurisdictional commission can be finalized.