The city of Kalispell is taking a step back in time as city representatives get to work on the first draft of a set of design standards for historical buildings in the downtown area.

In February, the Kalispell Downtown Business Improvement District received a $15,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerce to establish design standards for the city’s historic buildings.

The design standards apply to the exterior of commercial buildings in the historic downtown corridor. While the final regulations likely won’t be approved until spring 2021, City Planner Rachel Ezell explained the standards could apply to architectural elements such as building materials, colors and features such as cornices.

The overall goal of implementing these standards would be to maintain the historic character of Kalispell’s classic buildings over time.

A 14-question survey was sent out Oct. 22 and collected on Nov. 19 to gauge property owners’ priorities for the buildings in downtown Kalispell. Ezell said the survey received 58 responses, and that input will be used as the city puts together the first draft of the planned regulations.

“Generally speaking, the results show people do, in fact, value the historic downtown,” Ezell said.

Ninety-six percent of survey respondents indicated they consider historic buildings to be an important asset to the city, she said.

The biggest concern she heard from those surveyed was the threat of overregulation. Ezell recognizes property owners want to maintain the flexibility to be creative with architectural designs without losing their property’s historic character.

Ezell expects the first draft of the standards to be ready in the next few weeks. The proposed standards eventually will go through the approval process by the Business Improvement District, the Kalispell Architectural Review Committee, Planning Board and, ultimately, the Kalispell City Council.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.