Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 3.18.15

8 | MARCH 18, 2015 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM Firm Studies Urban Renewal Options for South Kalispell
Just
Sayin’...
“Looking back, it would have been better for me to use two separate phones and two email accounts. I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously, it hasn’t worked out that way.”
Hillary Clinton in response to mounting criticism for using only a private email for work- related correspondence as secretary of state.
“If we continue as a party to be divided, we will not win the next presidency nor will we win the governor’s office.”
Montana Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke speaking at the Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Helena.
“I don’t think it
was a mistake.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in response to criticism after 47 Senate Republicans sent a signed letter to the leaders of Iran, explaining that any nuclear deal reached between that country and President Barack Obama could be reversed by future presidents or modified by Congress.
City developing economic development plan for south end, including the future of the airport
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
What type of developments would best suit the south end of Kalispell?
An engineering firm hired by the city is surveying residents and stakeholders to develop a new vision for the broad por- tion of town that stretches south along the highway thoroughfare toward Flat- head Lake. It’s a massive, mixed corridor of residential subdivisions, various com- mercial businesses, open land, a site for a new school and, not to be overlooked, a contentious airport.
Hoping to create a blueprint for future growth, the city is developing the South Kalispell Urban Renewal Plan to identify all possible options in the area and rally municipal resources and heavy commu- nity and stakeholder input, similar to how the Core Area Redevelopment Plan came together.
CTA Architects Engineers was hired to gather public input and analyze the area, a process that has been underway this past month. Last week CTA held a community open house at the Hilton Gar- den Inn, and over 150 people turned out to share ideas and answer a broad range of questions.
What land-use issues, such as uncon- trolled growth or subdivision develop- ment, most concern you? How would you improve your neighborhood? What kinds of commerce would you like to see?
By diving into this process, both CTA and the city are forced to address a thorny subject: the municipal airport. The fate of the site has been in limbo since voters shot down a host of proposed upgrades in late 2013, creating more questions than answers related to its current and future status.
At its open house, CTA included sev- eral questions related to this subject. If the airport was redeveloped, what types of land use would you like to see? What
A view of south of Kalispell from Lone Pine State Park. BEACON FILE PHOTO
is your main concern about the redevel- opment of the airport into another use? What do you like the most/least about the airport?
“There are a lot of folks who feel pas- sionately about it one way or another,” Wayne Freeman, CTA’s project leader, said. “Of course the airport is the catalyst for doing the entire renewal plan.”
Solving the airport situation has prov- en to be an age-old conundrum in Ka- lispell’s history, dating back to its creation over 80 years ago.
But it’s not the only piece of the puzzle.
Although commercial development has stalled somewhat in recent years, south Kalispell has seen steady growth in residential neighborhoods, with multiple subdivisions filling up.
At the same time, Kalispell School District No. 5 last fall received approval to purchase 25 acres of land on Airport Road for the likely development of a new ele- mentary school. Although school officials have not formally decided what to do with the land, consistent overcrowding in the district and the growing number of homes on the south end make it almost certain that the land will turn into a new facility
in the near future.
How will that impact the surround-
ing infrastructure, including the narrow Cemetery Road? Will that lead to new subdivision development in the nearby open land? How will the city address this growth?
Then there’s the U.S. Highway 93 Alternate Route, which is completed on the south end and is poised to be fully finished in the next two years. How will that new thoroughfare change the landscape? Will new development crop up around it?
It’s all being considered in this new ur- ban renewal plan, which will be finalized and presented to the city council in the fall. Public comments are still be accept- ed through the end of the March. A web- site has been developed — http://south- kalispellurbanrenewal.com/ — accepting comments and with more information.
“There’s no shortage of opportunities for improvement coming from the south,” Freeman said.
He added, “I’m tremendously encour- aged by the amount of people who came out here. There wasn’t a single wallflower. Everybody had an opinion.”
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