Kalispell Establishes Temporary Housing Study Advisory Committee
The committee will help oversee an affordable housing study, funded through a grant the city is expected to receive from the Department of Housing and Urban Development
By Zoë Buhrmaster
As city staffers prepare to launch an affordable housing study within the next year, Kalispell City councilors approved the creation of a new committee to help guide the study and develop a request for proposal.
Councilors discussed potential areas of focus for an affordable housing and homeless advisory committee during a June 8 work session, pointing out that it should collaborate with existing community committees that already work on housing. Councilors largely agreed that a committee should be specific enough to be effective, landing on a proposal for a temporary committee that would advise the city’s budgeted affordable housing study.
In the draft budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Kalispell officials proposed setting aside $126,000 to fund the study. The money will be allocated from a $1,095,555 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded to the city to support a study and update the growth policy to help increase the housing supply, which the city recently completed in accordance with the Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA).
During Monday night’s meeting, councilors questioned whether the city would still receive those funds, as cities who adopted MLUPA are still waiting for the federal reimbursement.
“Looks like it’s moving in the right direction,” Director of Development Services PJ Sorensen said, noting he heard earlier Monday HUD had approved the action plan and altered the reimbursement period, allowing for more time to complete a housing study.
If the city does not receive the federal funds, City Manager Jared Nygren said staff would come back before council to explore other options before moving forward with a housing study and committee. Nygren said staff is confident the city will receive the grant.
The Housing Study Advisory Committee unanimously approved by councilors will have seven committee member positions, ideally including a mix of backgrounds, that will help develop a request for proposals for the study. Housing studies generally take six to eight months to complete, Sorensen said, and it would need to be finished before next May for the city to be reimbursed.
“Having a committee in place with some of the work that’s been done allows us to create something unique that’s specific to us, so that would be helpful as well,” Nygren said.
Already the proposed committee has received a significant amount of interest from members of community groups working on affordable housing, Mayor Ryan Hunter said.