The Kalispell City Council on Monday gave initial approval for a new zoning designation for the downtown area.

The council unanimously voted 7-0 to approve the first reading of an ordinance establishing the new zoning designation.

The new B-3 zone draws traits from B-2, B-4 and B-5 zones, cutting all setback requirements between buildings, allowing for increased building heights and opening the Core Area to multi-family development. It also allows for light industrial development while prohibiting heavy industrial use in the area between Idaho Street and Center Street.

The Core Area Plan, drawn up by the city in 2012, focuses on redeveloping areas in central Kalispell along the BNSF Railway tracks. That rail line helped establish Kalispell in 1891.

“I think the passage of Ordinance 1768 is important because it’s finally putting teeth to the Core Area plan,” Mayor Mark Johnson said. “We’re finally at that point where we can paint that vision for the future.”

Council member Phil Guiffrida echoed Johnson’s comments, adding that the Core Area Plan has received full support from the council and city residents.

Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, praised the council during the public comment section for the city’s efforts to bolster the Core Area business development. Tom Rygg, who owns a former automobile dealership in the Core Area, praised the project but voiced concern over which businesses would be forced to obtain a conditional use permit for an enterprise already existing in the area.

Senior City Planner Jarod Nygren said once the B-3 zone is in place, every business in the Core Area would be part of a massive outreach by the city to determine which businesses will be affected by the zoning amendment. The city planning report on the new B-3 zone states that auto sales businesses would be required to obtain conditional-use permits from the city.

“I would encourage the public to take a look at this and get a feeling for where this is headed and make as many comments as possible,” council member Jim Atkinson said.

A separate agenda item Monday involved rezoning the Moose’s Saloon property along Main Street into the new B-3 zone.

Guiffrida opposed rezoning the Moose’s lot, noting that the city cannot change a property to a zone that doesn’t exist yet. He was also concerned about the city requesting the zone change, rather than the saloon owners who would have been required to pay several hundred dollars for the request.

“What you’re asking us to do tonight is approve something that does not exist in our laws,” Guiffrida said. “I’m having a real problem with the cart before the horse here.”

City Planning Director Tom Jentz defended the action by explaining that bringing both ordinances through simultaneously brought some expediency to local government.

The new zoning amendment would not officially be in place until 30 days after the second reading is approved. Second reading is scheduled in two weeks.

 By approving the ordinance to rezone Moose’s, the city can carry both ordinances forward simultaneously, allowing the change to happen as soon as the ordinance is in place or shutting the change down immediately if the council does not approve the second reading.

“This process happens every time we have to approve a subdivision and a [planned-unit-development],” Jentz said. “The council has been doing this process for probably 30 years that I’ve been aware of, taking it through as a package.”

Johnson commended Jentz for his effort to make government more efficient and pressed forward with the ordinance. The measure passed 5-2, with Guiffrida and council member Chad Graham voting against it.

“I can’t support this tonight, but I absolutely support this project,” Guiffrida said.

In other business, the council decided to hold a public hearing on a petition from Immanuel Lutheran to vacate a section of Mission Street. Immanuel Lutheran owns all the property adjacent to the street and is the lone user of the street that ends in a loading dock. The council will hold a public hearing on the matter in two weeks.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.