Kalispell Planning Commission members approved the city’s Land Use Plan during Tuesday night’s meeting, (forwarding it) the plan into the hands of city council for discussion. Under the Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA) passed during the 2023 Legislature, the city is required to institute a new growth policy in accordance with Senate Bill 382.
Land use plans dictate how land can and cannot be developed, but Kalispell’s existing policy and the MLUPA plan have two primary differences – the public comment process and the focus on housing.
According to MLUPA, public hearings for individual developments would be eliminated and instead hearings will be held during the development of the 20-year plan, with community check-ins every five years. That legislative requirement is currently pending review by the Montana Supreme Court after a district court judge ruled that it violates public participation laws.
If the change is permitted, developments will be approved administratively by staff instead of council, which Chad Graham, a former councilor and current planning commissioner, warned would be “disjointed.”
“You see this room?” Graham asked nodding to the few attendees inside council chambers. “Right now, it should be packed. And that’s my concern with this.”
City staff have been working on gathering public comment over the past year with a variety of open houses, community events and an online questionnaire, which saw 212 participants.
“I think we’re going to have some people wondering what is happening in their backyard,” Planning Commission member Rory Young said. “I think it’s one of those things that it’s not the most exciting subject.”
The city’s Land Use Plan estimates the city will add 23,000 new residents in the city by 2045, requiring 9,500 new housing units. It prioritizes diverse housing and infill development, alongside rehabilitating aging housing and forging workforce housing partnerships to help address affordable housing.
With the public hearing process for individual developments replaced by standards enacted by city staff, MLUPA would streamline the process for developers, local businesswoman and developer Kisa Davison said. Another local developer noted that predictable standards would make development more efficient and affordable and would be “highly impactful in the end result.”
The Land Use Plan will come before city councilors at the next work session on Jan. 26. The city has until May to enact the MLUPA2. To read the draft plan, visit the Engage Kalispell website here.