Kalispell City Council is expected to vote Monday on a proposed high-density subdivision in North Kalispell that drew the ire of neighbors during a July public hearing.

Council meets at 7 p.m., Aug. 4 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. East.  

Named the Reserve at Johnson Ranch, the development calls for nearly 500 dwelling units, made up of 186 single-family lots and two multi-family lots — one containing 237 units and the other with up to 70. The nearly 92-acre area adjacent to the Owl View Landing condominiums sits at the northwest corner of the intersection of Stillwater Road and Old Reserve Drive.  

A handful of community members spoke out against the project during a hearing last month, concerned that the pair of two-lane roads would be unable to support the increase in traffic and warned that car and pedestrian crashes would follow. 

The approach onto Old Reserve Drive is planned as a right in/out only approach. The road will also require improvements, including curb and gutter, street signage, a sidewalk, street lighting, boulevards and landscaping, according to a city report.  

The developers also plan to reconstruct Stillwater Road with a center two-way left turn lane, according to a traffic impact study conducted by Abelin Traffic Services. 

Developers Spartan Holdings LLC, a California-based company, and Whispering Trails LLC are requesting annexation into the city, a growth policy amendment, initial zoning of residential, residential apartment and neighborhood business with a planned unit development overlay and preliminary plat approval.  

The subdivision includes a commercial space for a grocery store and small retail shops meant to serve the neighborhood and ease traffic to other business areas around the city. 

COUNCIL IS also expected to give the green light to another phase of the Starling Community development in North Kalispell.  

Starling Development LLC is requesting final plat approval for Phase 4A of the development. City planners determined the developer met the 36 conditions placed under the preliminary plat approved in September.  

The roughly 58-residential mixed-use development was approved by Council in 2021. The community resides along Stillwater Road between Four Mile Drive and Old Reserve Drive.  

Council is also expected to accept a $1,600 grant for neonatal restraints for an ambulance, allowing babies to be transported safely and securely, according to a letter from Kalispell Fire Chief Jay Hagen.  

The Betty Woods Grant was awarded at the annual A.L.E.R.T/Betty Woods Memorial Golf Tournament held at the Village Greens golf course in July.  

Water engineering consultant AE2S is expected to be hired to build improvements to a city lift station just north of the Stillwater River on U.S. 93.  

The lift station is in need of upgrades, owing to growing development in the area, according to a memo from Deputy Public Works Director Keith Haskins.  

Council will vote to authorize the issuance of bonds funding a fermenter tank at the city wastewater treatment plant. One bond amounting to $750,000 will be forgiven by the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the second, at around $1 million, will have a 20-year term with a fixed rate of 2.5% annually. 

Council will mull over a request from the Meadows Edge subdivision to extend its preliminary plat approval by two years.   

Council will also decide whether to issue bonds to help finance sewer improvements at the Green Acres mobile home community.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].