A handful of people showed up at Tuesday’s Kalispell Planning Board meeting to oppose plans for an expanded parking lot at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The board considered measures for a zoning change and growth policy amendment for a 9.5-acre parcel on the east side of the hospital campus. The hospital plans to pave part of that space for added parking.

The board ultimately voted to recommend approval of those changes, but not before residents of the Grandview Drive area spoke about added traffic and noise concerns.

“It will significantly change the flavor of our quiet, secluded neighborhood,” said Steve Martinez, who lives south of the project area.

The hospital plans to build a parking lot between Heritage Way and Grandview Drive, a space currently used as a dump site and temporary parking. According to city planning documents, the rapid growth of the medical complex has led to “significant” parking issues.

The site is also a buffer between the hospital and nearby homes to the east. Residents talked about several issues, from finding construction dust on their porch to heavy truck noise during snow plowing. And with a parking lot potentially creeping closer to their doorsteps, they took to the microphone on Tuesday.

Margaret Davis said that the planners should think of the long-term development of the parcel before considering a zone change.

“The developer and the city both need to address accelerated growth in the H-1 zone and overall public safety in the Flathead Valley,” she said.

The parcel was zoned for residential use. The amended zoning allows for  hospital use, or H-1, which could include the parking lot or other development.

Davis noted that when the city develops Four Mile Drive with a connection to the proposed bypass, it will create a direct link to the hospital area via Grandview Drive, further adding to traffic congestion.

“There are currently nine children living within one block of the Grandview Drive entrance, and I feel that that’s a significant safety concern,” said Kelly Coloff, a Grandview Drive resident.

Some of the concerns were addressed by the architectural firm handling the project. Toby McIntosh of Jackola Engineering and Architects said most of the 9.5-acre parcel will remain vacant with this project, though the entire area would be zoned for hospital development.

On one of the main concerns, traffic, McIntosh said Grandview will be left alone for now.

“As currently proposed, the parking lot expansion is actually not going to connect to Grandview,” he said. “That access has been removed and is listed as a possibility in the future.”

After the public comment period, city Planning Director Tom Jentz told board members that the measures before them were not technically rulings on the parking lot. They were to consider zoning and growth policy changes for hospital development in general, which in this case is intended to include a parking lot.

The two items passed, each on a 5-1 vote. Board member Rory Young abstained.

Board member Karlene Osorio-Kohr cast the no vote both times. She said that this project has exposed a simmering feud between the hospital and its neighbors.

“There’s not a good feeling here,” she said before casting her vote. “Sometimes it’s better to have communication and set everything aside so that when you go for it as a community entity, or as the hospital, as a business, that you’re going forward with the support of the neighborhood. And that isn’t what’s happening here.”

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.