Kalispell city officials are gathering residents’ thoughts on a new land use plan that will determine how city land is developed over the next 20 years, a change to growth policy mandated by the Montana Land Use Plan Act (MLUPA) that lawmakers passed during the 2023 legislative session.
Land use policies dictate how land can and cannot be used, laying out guidance for city council members as they make decisions that affect annexation, zoning and housing. Growth policies have always addressed housing, but the MLUPA plan puts more emphasis on housing than before, said PJ Sorensen, assistant director of Kalispell’s development services.
“There’s two big changes that kind of went in there that are different from what we used to have,” Sorensen said. “This really drills down projecting population out for 20 years. ‘How are you going to be providing services to your population and that growth?’”
Driving this home is the MLUPA requirement that applicable cities must adopt at least five out of 14 regulated reforms that act as strategies to meet future housing needs.
To help inform their decisions, city officials have been gathering community feedback with drop-in community events around the city, including over the spring and during this past week. City leaders have also delivered around 40 presentations for stakeholder groups such as local businesses, the school district, fire district, and hospital. Community members have also been commenting on a draft of the plan while highlighting priority areas on a map of the city on Engage Kalispell, the plan’s designated website.
The options:
- Reduce required off-street parking to no more than one space per home/unit
- Reduce aesthetic and related design standards for apartment buildings
- Reduce impact fees for additional residential units on a property by at least 25%
- Increase maximum building heights by at least 25%
- Reduce build setback requirements by at least 25%
- Reduce minimum lot sizes by at least 25%
- Allow a duplex wherever a single-family residence is allowed
- Allow higher density housing near public transit, places of employment, or the Flathead Valley Community College
- Allow a second home on any property where a single-family residence is allowed
- Allow for 3- and 4-unit apartments wherever a single-family residence is allowed
- Allow apartments as a permitted use in office and commercial zones
- Specifically allow for tiny houses as defined in the building code
- Allow for single-room occupancy (rental of a single bedroom with shared kitchen and bathroom)
- Allow apartments with 5+ units anywhere that 3- or 4-unit apartments are permitted use
During a drop-in event at Bias Brewing on July 11, Wes Walker, a resident running for Kalispell’s Ward 4 city council seat, commented on the 14 reforms.
“I like them all. I don’t care much for additional parking,” he said, pointing to the required single-space reform. “I think it could encourage more alternatives for our car-driven society.”
Melissa Ruth, a planner with consulting firm Logan Simpson that is partnering with the city to help develop the plan, has experienced helping formulate land use code in towns across the state, and said that “since this is a fairly tailored project, we’ve gotten really good turnout.”
“We’ve seen a happy mix of people,” Ruth said. “The city will be required to do some form of public engagement every five years after this with the growth policy, so it’s a good way of creating a more regular engagement program.”
Some reforms are required by state ordinance, like reducing required off-street parking to no more than one space per home or living unit; however, Sorensen notes that this is only a minimum requirement, and that the market tends to drive construction of homes with more than one off-street parking space.
In other examples, the city already follow the prescribed reform, making for easy selections.
Kalispell city officials are likely to incorporate the initiative to reduce minimum lot sizes by 25%, something that Kalispell already naturally does. The current standard size is 6,000 square feet, and most projects are around 4,500 square feet. The city also already permits maximum density in downtown areas, and allows apartments in office and commercial zones, as long as they’re in accordance with any conditional use permit.
Allowing for single-room occupancy (rental of a single bedroom with shared kitchen and bathroom), like college dorm arrangements with locking bedrooms and shared kitchens, and other common facilities, has been a popular choice during community feedback.
“It’s something the city already allows under single-family housing, too,” said Sorensen.
Tiny homes, specifically houses under 400 square feet, are also likely to be included in the plan, although Sorensen noted that’s due less to their usefulness in housing development and more because of the amount of support they’ve received during the community outreach campaign.
“All through the process there’s been a lot of support for tiny homes,” Sorensen said.
Of the range of options, determining whether to allow an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on any property where a single-family residence is allowed is the one of the most controversial, Sorensen said. State law currently requires permission of ADUs on all properties, but cities can opt out of it if they want to.
“Some people really support it and some people don’t,” Sorensen said. “Of all the stuff, that’s probably the most divided I think, is the ADUs.”
Some are more complicated, such as reducing impact fees and allowing apartments with five or more units anywhere where 3- or 4-unit comes with a set of challenges.
The second significant change intended by the MLUPA is the public feedback component, which would eliminate public hearings for individual developments and instead frontload them during the planning process while requiring community check-ins every five years. That legislative requirement is pending review by the Montana Supreme Court after a district court judge ruled it violates public participation laws.
Sorensen said that while the state only requires five reforms, it’s likely that six or seven reforms may end up in the plan’s final draft.
“I think some people get frustrated when it’s just like, ‘oh the state is mandating we do these things,’” Sorensen said. “But when you break it down to each one it’s kind of ‘well, that one makes sense,’ and ‘that one’s not a big deal.’ Pretty soon you have six or seven and it’s just not as burdensome I think as people are worried about.”
In the coming months, city officials will incorporate the feedback from the community outreach sessions into the draft that will be presented before city council. There will also be a public hearing for the plan before council votes on a final draft.
The new policy must be in place by May 2026, according to the MLUPA requirements.