Kalispell City Council meets for the last time this year to vote on whether to lower the impact fees to be assessed the PB&J bookstore and cafe, in its plan to relocate, from about $1,800 to less than $200. PB&J’s owner, Nancy Johnson, previously asked to have her impact fees reconsidered, saying she was moving her business, not expanding it, and questioned why she would be assessed such a heavy transportation impact fee.
After the council’s last work session, the city asked Johnson to record her own customer traffic, instead of basing her estimated fee on the Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, the usual standard used by the city when a small business owner can’t afford their own traffic study. The result was a significant reduction in the fees. The council will likely vote tonight to now assess any transportation impact fees to PB&J, and to assess a sanitary sewer impact fee of $199.92.
Also on tonight’s agenda:
– Council will vote on a six-month extension for businesses to comply with the outdoor lighting standards adopted in 2005.
–The Montana Department of Transportation needs to purchase 0.1 acre of land adjacent to Three Mile Drive for a construction easement in conjunction with the bypass construction.
–The council must decide on which consulting firm will handle the environmental assessment for the city airport redevelopment project. City staff is recommending Stelling Engineers over Robert Peccia & Associates.
–The Ashley Heights Subdivision is seeking final plat approval for 26 single-family lots on 8.4 acres located at the western end of Bismarck Street.