Kalispell City Council Moves to Amend Junk Vehicle and Tall Grass Ordinances
The amendments redefine the city’s terms for junk vehicles and tall grass, along with shortening the amount of time residents have to comply with violations
By Zoë Buhrmaster
The Kalispell City Council on Monday voted to expand its definitions of junk vehicles and tall grass to improve code enforcement in residential neighborhoods, along with adjusting the amount of time a person has to respond to a violation and gain compliance. Council still must formally adopt the amendments in a final reading.
The city’s ordinance aimed at regulating community blight and promoting public safety originally defined a junk vehicle as “a discarded, ruined, wrecked, or dismantled motor vehicle (including component parts) that is inoperative or incapable of being driven.”
The new ordinance would amend that definition to include vehicles, machinery, trailers, or parts that are “inoperative or incapable of being driven” or which have one or more of eight listed characteristics relating to safety, the height of the vegetation around the vehicle, environmental contamination hazards, trash stored inside, and missing and broken parts.
City Manager Doug Russell said the existing definition “isn’t very highly defined,” making the ordinance difficult to follow.
“I think the added definition gives more clarity and understanding to implementing it,” he said.
Jarod Nygren, the city’s development services director, said the city receives many complaints that do not technically fall under the existing definition.
“It actually does give the city the tools to move a lot of vehicles,” he said of the amended ordinance.
Councilor Ryan Hunter expressed concern about the restriction, proposing an amendment to make an exception for up to two vehicles in a yard, which did not pass.
“I get that no one wants a junk car next to them but at the same time I’m not too keen on punishing people who are already struggling and in poverty, over what is really an aesthetic issue,” said Hunter.
Councilor Sid Daoud expressed similar “heartburn” over the issue, voting no.
Councilor Chad Graham proposed an amendment to change the verbiage from “or” to “and,” requiring that a vehicle’s inoperative condition must be among the eight listed characteristics. The amendment passed with support from all councilors save Councilor Jessica Dahlman.
The ordinance passed its initial reading with support from Councilor Jed Fisher, Councilor Sandy Carlson, Councilor Chad Graham, and Mayor Mark Johnson. Councilors Hunter, Dahlman and Daoud all voted against it.
The council also voted to rewrite the city’s ordinance regulating tall grass, and to shift code-enforcement responsibilities away from the fire department so they fall city’s broader jurisdiction.
The new definition of tall grass includes “unchecked or overgrown vegetation that is unsightly, troublesome or offensive” in addition to weeds and grass over eight inches. The amendment allows exceptions for property that exceeds 15,000 square feet in size; drainage areas, wetlands, forests or other areas that are impractical for weeding; and “maintained and cultivated gardens.”
The roughly 90 minutes of deliberation included debate over the definition of “garden,” with Hunter proposing to add “naturescaping, or other intentionally created habitat features,” as an amendment to the ordinance. His proposal failed to pass. Johnson, meanwhile, proposed another amendment to add “landscaping” to the definition, which also failed to pass.
“All these are about your property rights versus property rights of those around you,” Daoud said, warning that some residents could use the expanded ordinance to generate more complaints against neighbors.
Hunter critiqued the ordinance for similar reasons.
“I don’t think the community purpose for this is great enough to justify weaponizing the city in neighbors’ disputes,” said Hunter.
Councilor Fisher shared his experiences having worked for the county in responding to vegetation calls for 35 years.
“I wish it was where neighbors would just go talk to each other, but they won’t,” Fisher said. “Generally, I agree there are too many laws, but I think this allows the city to do their job better, and satisfies many people who work their tails off and spend a lot of money to have a beautiful, maintained yard that they’re proud of and expect to have in their neighborhood.”
The updated ordinance also changes the date for compliance from 30 days to 10 days.
The updated definition and expedited code enforcement timeframe passed with support from Councilors Fisher, Carlson, Gabriel, Graham, and Mark Mayor Johnson. Councilors Hunter, Daoud, and Dahlman voted no.