The Kalispell Planning Board gave the green light to a proposed parking district near Flathead High School after multiple revisions and public meetings, setting the stage for a final decision by the city council in the coming months.
Board members voted 4-1 to recommend the city establish a boundary for managing parking in the residential neighborhoods around Flathead and Elrod Elementary School. Chad Graham, a city councilor and president of the planning board, supported the recommendation along with Doug Kauffman, Steve Lorch and Rory Young. Matt Regier voted against the proposal, citing his ongoing disapproval of the resident-only parking restrictions. Karlene Osorio-Khor recused herself from voting because she is a resident in the west-side neighborhood. Charles Pesola was absent.
The proposal, which has been debated among school administrators, residents and city planners for almost two years, seeks to establish a boundary that would regulate parking in an area some say is heavily congested because of the two schools. The restrictions would be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, on days when school is in session.
Within the designated boundary, the city could restrict parking to residents and homeowners through a permitting system that would be enforced by city police officers. After receiving input from the schools as well as the residents spearheading the proposal, city planners have recommended beginning with a scaled-down version of the parking district.
Under the current proposal, Kalispell School District would create 35-38 parking spots at Elrod and 20-25 spots at Flathead. If the district adds the new spaces in 2015, the city would implement resident-only restrictions on Third Avenue West, Fourth Avenue West, south of Fifth Street West and north of Ninth Street West within in the boundaries of the parking district.
If the new spaces are not created at both schools, the city would add restrictions on all avenues south of Fifth Street West within the parking district boundaries.
The school district could request “special event exclusions” to accommodate larger events that take place throughout the year, and the neighborhoods would be notified of the dates when parking restrictions would be temporarily lifted.
Residents within the parking district could petition the city council to add or remove parking restrictions for their streets by gaining signatures from 75 percent of the property owners along the specific avenue. At least 75 percent of the parking along each street would have to remain occupied to maintain the permitting system.
A lack of residents purchasing permits could result in the city removing restrictions, according to the latest proposal. An exact amount for each permit has not been determined yet and will be set by the city council.
The city council will likely begin discussing the issue through a work session before adding it to an agenda, which would include a public hearing, according to City Manager Doug Russell. A date has not yet been set for the initial work session.
“There’s been a lot of compromise that has gone on on both sides to get to where this is at,” Graham said. “I get that not everybody is happy. That’s kind of how it has to work. Not one side is going to get everything they want. But I think by doing that, we’ve done our job.”
Mark Flatau, superintendent of Kalispell School District No. 5, said staff at both schools will continue to work together with residents and city planners to address concerns within the neighborhood.
“We’re part of the neighborhood, we have to be part of the solution,” he said. “They also need to realize that our hands are somewhat tied. We don’t have a bottomless pit of resources to go snatch up properties and convert them into parking lots. In a perfect world, that’s what we would do.”
He added, “I hope this is a compromise that both sides can live with. We’re certainly willing to give it a try and continue to do our part. With that said, Flathead High School is not going anywhere. It’s an issue that has been around for many years and hopefully this is a possible solution.”
To read the proposed draft Westside Neighborhood Parking Management Plan, visit Kalispell.com/planning.