More commercial and residential development could be coming to Columbia Falls. The city council last week approved a request by the Nitopi Family Trust of Whitefish for a mixed-use planned unit development off Fourth Avenue West.

The half-acre lot is currently vacant and is just behind Whitefish Credit Union.

The Trust plans to build two three-story buildings, one on the west end of the lot and one on the east, that would bookend a 22-vehicle parking lot in the middle.

The buildings would house a mixture of nine residential units and three commercial spaces.

The east building would have three commercial spaces on the ground floor topped by three taller two-story residential units, all facing Fourth Avenue West, the main thoroughfare leading to Glacier Gateway Elementary.

No one from the public spoke for or against the new development during a public hearing.

The residential units would likely be owner-occupied and the buildings with commercial space could be constructed so the owner could live upstairs and work downstairs.

The development will renovate the sidewalks on Fourth in front of the building. The one concession council allowed was the plan doesn’t actually have enough parking spaces for the buildings, but on-street parking will be improved, which will add an additional nine spots, noted city planner Eric Mulcahy.

The council approved the project unanimously. Work is expected to begin sometime late next spring, early summer.

In other news:

• Council further went over the city’s extension of services plan. This time, city manager Susan Nicosia drilled down further into projects that could happen inside the city limits. There are several lots in the city that are still on septic systems, even though city sewer and water is nearby.
If those properties are sold, they would have to hook into the city sewer and water if they’re within 200 feet of a line, which most are.
The Vans Avenue neighborhood in particular has a lot of septic tanks. Nicosia in the coming weeks also plans on revising the city’s extension plan to update the language. It’s been about 20 years since it was updated.

• Mayor Don Barnhart expressed concern about what would happen to town as voters legalized marijuana. The city already has two medical marijuana shops and he was concerned about more. City attorney Justin Breck and Nicosia both concurred that the city could restrict them through zoning, but likely couldn’t prohibit them entirely.