The Kalispell City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes at Silverbrook Estates, after the council decided the developer’s proposed changes may have major effects on the subdivision’s residents.

At Monday’s work session, the council discussed a request from Silvermont Properties, which owns the Silverbrook Estates north of Kalispell, to allow its commercial buildings to be taller than determined by the original development plan. The city’s site review committee typically handles such amendments, but decided that the changes could be a major change to the subdivision, warranting the council’s attention.

Council member Phil Guiffrida agreed that the amendment would produce a major change to the neighborhood setting, and said Silverbrook residents should be a part of the discussion.

“If they want to come forward with this, just follow the process,” Guiffrida said. “Have a public hearing, hear what the public has to say and go from there.”

The first amendment request asks for the total allowed gross square footage for all buildings, currently 120,000 square feet, to be amended to the total allowed footprint of all buildings. The request also asks to change the total gross square footage of the largest building from 25,000 to be the total footprint.

The second amendment request asks that buildings be limited to two stories, rather than one, and that they can reach a maximum of 40 feet, instead of 25 feet.

Marvin Galts, developer of the Silverbrook Estates project, said Silvermont held its own neighborhood hearing last week regarding the proposed changes, where he said the 30 in attendance showed unanimous support for the building amendments. He said allowing taller buildings would jump-start the commercial district in the subdivision.

“Unless we did something like this, it was going to sit there dormant for a long time,” Galts said. “This is an important opportunity to get started and move forward.”

City Manager Doug Russell after the meeting said the council will still hold a public meeting.

“I think the council’s intent is to give people the opportunity to speak with council if they have concerns,” Russell said. Having a neighborhood meeting, he said, “that’s a different arena than having a public hearing before the council.”

The Silverbrook Estates project started nine years ago as a 325-acre subdivision about four miles north of Kalispell. The subdivision has since been annexed by the city and continues to fill out its 285 home properties in the first phase of the development.

The council will announce a date for the public hearing at the next regular city council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 17.

For more information, visit http://www.kalispell.com/mayor_and_city_council/.

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