A former church building in west Kalispell got the green light Monday from the Kalispell City Council to become a shelter for homeless high school students.

About 40 community members in the packed council chambers burst into applause after the unanimous vote to approve a conditional use permit for Sparrow’s Nest at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Second Street West.

“We want our community to embrace what we’re doing, we want our kids to graduate from high school and we want to be proactive rather than reactive,” said Linda Kaps, a Columbia Falls High School counselor involved in the project. “It’s easy to supply toothbrushes. It’s very difficult to supply housing. ... This is a problem that people are finally recognizing, and we are doing something about it.”

Sparrows Nest Executive Director Jerramy Dear-Ruel told the council the home will be modeled after the Tumbleweed Program in Billings.

He cited a Montana Office of Public Instruction study that found 87 homeless students attend Flathead and Glacier high schools.

Capable of housing up to eight people, the Sparrow’s Nest facility also will serve recent high school graduates still trying to transition to stable housing. Youths will be required to undergo a screening process and must abide by the house rules, including helping out with chores and not using alcohol, tobacco or drugs.

A conditional use permit is required for community residential facilities within city limits. Council member Phil Guiffrida commended the project’s leaders on their work after adding a condition to the permit requiring them to obtain any permits they need or to verify that they aren’t needed.

Dear-Ruel said the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services did not require a permit, but he was still working to determine whether approval is needed from the Montana Board of Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs.

The council on Monday delayed approval of a series of amendments to the city zoning code, including one that would allow short-term rentals through services such as Airbnb.

The council tabled the other 14 zoning amendments until its next regular meeting on May 16 after Mayre Flowers requested that the staff report on the changes include more information.

The council also amended the proposed ordinance to separate the short-term rental amendment after Mayor Mark Johnson said he would like to study the issue further.

“I think a number on the council had thoughts about it,” Johnson said after the meeting. “We might as well take our time and do it right.”

Short-term rentals are currently operating out of compliance with Kalispell city codes. Council member Kari Gabriel noted she would like to see the issue addressed quickly, since changes to the city’s zoning code take 30 days to go into effect.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.