Community Technical Assistance Program

Welcome to the Community Technical Assistance Program

The original enabling legislation for the Department of Commerce was the Planning and Economic Act of 1967, sponsored then-State Senator, and later Governor, Tom Judge. Supporting community planning and local economic development have been parallel missions for the Department of Commerce for 40 years. Our Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) provided assistance in community planning, subdivision regulation, zoning, and capital improvements planning from 1967 until 2003. In 2003, the Legislature, faced with a $300 million general fund deficit, cut CTAP from the budget.

In 2005, the Legislature’s Education and Local Government Interim Committee, while studying the implementation of the States’ subdivision laws stated:

“A consistent problem that has been articulated is the lack of centralized technical assistance and funding to help local governments effectively plan and to handle the exploding workload that some jurisdictions are experiencing.”
In response to requests from local governments, the Schweitzer Administration proposed to re-establish CTAP during the 2007 Legislature. CTAP received broad support from the Legislature’s Education and Local Government Interim Committee, the Montana Association of Counties, the League of Cities and Towns, the Montana Association of Planners, the Montana Association of Realtors, the Montana Building Industry Association, the Montana Economic Developers Association, and the Montana Smart Growth Coalition. The Legislature responded by establishing a two-person staff for CTAP.

Kelly A. Casillas has been hired as the staff attorney for CTAP. She is originally from East Helena, Montana and received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She received a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of California at Los Angeles, School of Public Policy and Social Research and her law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
After receiving her J.D., Kelly was employed for over three years as the Deputy County Counsel for the County of Santa Barbara where she provided land use, planning, subdivision, and environmental review advice to the Planning & Development Agency, Redevelopment Agency, Public Works, and other county departments. As a litigator, she defended the county from various legal challenges involving planning and land use decisions by the Board of Supervisors, including denial or approval of conditional use permits, zoning changes, variances, subdivisions, and comprehensive plan amendments, as well as protection of historic and natural resources.

Prior to that, she worked for two years with a private law firm which served as special counsel to several California cities and public agencies where she worked on issues such as environmental review, water supply planning requirements, and agricultural land and open space preservation.
She returned to Helena this year with her family where she was with the law firm of Jackson, Murdo, and Grant. Kelly is currently a member of the Helena - Lewis & Clark County Consolidated Planning Board.

Jerry Grebenc was hired as the Community Technical Assistance Program Manager. Jerry Grebenc received a BA degree in History/Geography from the University of Minnesota – Duluth and his Master’s Degree in Geography/Planning from the University of Montana. He has eight years of experience in community planning and development issues, including serving as Planning Director for Lewis and Clark County.

In addition to his public service, he has worked with engineering firms in Missoula and Helena helping to design subdivision proposals and take them through the local government review process. He will be able to bring CTAP a balanced perspective from both his local government and private sector experience. Jerry is currently a member of a volunteer working group of citizens, planning advocates, and development professionals that is preparing a proposed rural zoning ordinance for the Helena Valley. In addition, he serves on the Lands Committee of the Helena-based Prickly Pear Land Trust, which provides technical review of properties proposed for acquisition or conservation easements.
We are very pleased that we were able to attract such well-qualified applicants for the CTAP positions. Having CTAP staff that have excellent, practical experience in community planning will help get the re-established Community Technical Assistance Program off to a good start.

Dave Cole, Administrator
Community Development Division