03/20/02 Kalvig/AG Opinion Request041o1/ t�002 002 13:13 FAX 423 874 0748 WOLFORU DEVELOPMENT ;aos ass �raa
LAW oFmcEs of
KAUFMAN, VIDAL & FUL M , P.C,
Leonard L. Kaufinan
James E. Vidal
Daniel W. Hileman
James M. Ramlow
Angela M. Vaninetti
Tia R. Robbin
Shelly F. Brander
Ken A. K.alvig
Bucky Wolford
Wolford Development
1200 Mountain Creek Road, Ste. 102
Chattanooga, TN 37405
22 Second Avenue West
P.O. Box 728
Kahbipelt, MT 59903-0728
March 20, 2002
Telephone:
406-755-5700
Fax:
406-755-5783
kal vi g@c entp rytel , net
Re: Attorney General Opinion Request from City of Kalispell on SB97
I am following up with you on the above -referenced issue, on which you received
conflicting information when you were in Kalispell earlier this week, 'After checking with the
.Attorney General's office yesterday and today, I can confirm that the City of Kalispell has not
filed a request for an Attorney General's opinion on various questions raised by Senate Bill 97.
I spoke with the person at the AG's office who processes the mail and who dockets or
records all requests that have been submitted, and as of Tuesday morning, no request had been
recorded. Z also confirmed this by visiting the website for the Attorney General's Office, which
provides a list of all requests, and no request is shown from the City of Kalispell. Today, Z spoke
with Chris Tweeten, who is an attorney at the AG`s office, who confirmed that he did meet with
the Kalispell assistant city attorney, Scott Wurster, last Friday. He informed me, however, that
no request was submitted and that he was not even shown a draft of a request --rather he and Mr.
Wurster engaged in a discussion about the general contours of the request that would be
forthcoming. All of this is consistent with what Mr. Wurster relayed to me on Monday.
Tom Jentz' statement to you, and Chris Kukulski's statement to the city council and the
public on Monday night, that a request had been submitted to the AG's office for clarification on
SB 97 were false. This concerns me because such misrepresentations can lead people to the false
conclusion that an AG's opinion is imminent, and therefore work on completing a growth policy
can be delayed a while longer. An AG's opinion is not imminent, Chris Tweeten at the .AG's
office could not give me a time frame as to when an opinion would be issued_ Based upon my
)4/01/1. 13:14 FAX 423 874 07AR
Ceti
WOLFORD DEVELOPMENT ;aom 75s s75a U s/
March 20, 2002
Page 2
discussion with him, and knowing howthis process has moved along to this point, I believe that
the earliest an opinion will be issued is mid to late May. As we have discussed before, even if an
AG's opinion is issued that is favorable to our desire to make zoning changes, that opinion can
still be challenged in the courts. It is best for the city to get to work on completing a growth
policy because then the city clearly can act to approve the zoning you desire. It is my impression
that the anticipation over an Aas opinion on SB 97 has caused the city to put the growth policy
on the back burner. They need to get it off the back burner and get it done. Thus is an important
issue to your project that should be put to bed_ I will keep you posted on what I hear, but it
sounds like the city planning board may start some efforts on the growth policy.
Call me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
j
Ken Kalvig
04/01/2002 13:13 FAX 423 874 074R WOLFORD DEVELOPMENT�1001
1200 Mountain Creek Road, Suite ##102
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Phone: 423/874.0811
Fax 423/874-0748
WOLFORD
IDV'
9LOMENT
INC.
To: Chris Kukulski From; Bucky Wolford
Fa)c 406-758-7758 Pages: 3
Phone: Date: 04/01/02
Re: Letter We Discussed
CC:
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0 Comments:
Chris:
Attached please find the letter we discussed.