A public hearing on the proposed residential on-street parking permit program around Flathead High School and Elrod Elementary tops the agenda of Tuesday’s Kalispell Planning Board meeting.

The proposed parking district would be bounded by Third Street West to the north, Ninth Street West to the south, Second Avenue West to the east and Sixth Avenue West to the west, according to the Planning Department.

The district would encompass 207 properties. Only residents or property owners within the district would be eligible to purchase on-street parking permits for their registered vehicles and two visitor permits. Permits would be required from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Aug. 15 through June 15 except on legal holidays.

The cost of permits has not been determined, although past notices mailed to residents by the city gave estimates of $20 to $30 per vehicle.

Parking has been a long-standing issue with residents living in the westside neighborhood. In 2013, the city surveyed residents and received comments that included safety, noise and litter concerns. Soon after, a neighborhood committee formed and submitted a request for the city to research a residential, on-street parking permit program around the two schools.

A packed audience aired its opinions about the parking district at a Sept. 9 Planning Board work session. In the weeks following the work session, the neighborhood committee and Kalispell Public Schools submitted modifications to the city’s parking district proposal.

In addition to creating roughly 65 to 70 additional parking spaces on district property at Flathead and Elrod, Kalispell Public Schools administrators suggested an on-street parking permit program that would allow for resident parking on the west side of Third Avenue West and Fourth Avenue West between Third and Tenth streets from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and non-resident parking on the east side of the streets.

The neighborhood committee’s modifications allowed for Flathead and Elrod student and staff to purchase parking permits for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years with the rationale that would give the district enough time to build infrastructure to accommodate more parking.

The committee suggested permits should cost five times the amount of resident permits, or the alternative, that residents would get free permits while staff and students pay $20. During these years, students and staff would be able to park on one side of the street — the east side in 2015-16 and the west side in the 2016-17.

Following Tuesday’s public hearing, the board could make a recommendation to the Kalispell City Council for final action, but the Planning Department’s recommendation is to schedule another work session to consider the new developments and community feedback.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.