SITUATION
In Flathead County, Montana, developers of the North Shore Ranch community turned to Gallatin Public Affairs after their initial efforts to construct a project were unanimously rejected by the county planning board.

STRATEGY
Gallatin spearheaded a comprehensive communications strategy that had two goals.

1. Engage all stakeholders – neighbors, critics, community leaders, and regulatory agencies, to communicate openly about the project and its benefits.

2. Work with the developers and their legal and engineering teams to ensure that the design for the development exceeded every legal requirement in the event the project ended up in litigation.

OUTCOME
After winning overwhelming approval from the county planning board on the second effort, the politically charged county commission rejected the development by a narrow vote, leaving the developers no choice but to file suit. Facing harsh criticism from a community that had largely turned supportive of the project – and faced with no legal grounds on which to deny the project – the county quickly settled. The agreement with the developers reversed the commission’s vote, provided paving of all streets within the development, and included a cash payment of $1 million.