The Columbia Falls City Council last week in a 4-2 vote approved a townhouse subdivision at 274 Meadow Lake Boulevard.

Toby and Mindy Gilchrist are proposing a 10 lot, 20-unit townhome subdivision on the heavily wooded 2.27-acre parcel.

Council made its decision after about an hour-long discussion and public hearing. They approved the planned unit development as well as annexing the property into the city, as it will have city sewer and water hookups.

The parcel is located on a wooded lot north of the intersection of the Truck Route.

Councilors Kelly King and Kathryn Price voted against the subdivision. King opposed it because a primitive path that will run to the subdivision from an existing sidewalk in front of Timber Creek Village is proposed on the east side of the road, while the subdivision itself is on the west side of the highway.

“If the subdivision is on the west side, then the sidewalk should be on the west side,” she argued, adding that the road is already dangerous.

But Mayor Don Barnhart countered that he didn’t think the shoulder condition on the west side would even accommodate a sidewalk because of the huge fill that goes over a sewer main in an industrial property to the south. 

In addition, city attorney Justin Breck noted, the city didn’t have any authority to condition a sidewalk to the project beyond the actual boundaries.

In the end, the developer agreed to put in a primitive gravel path over the footprint of the extended water line. The city, in turn, would look at placing a crosswalk from the sidewalk to the subdivision when it’s completed.

Price was more concerned about the density of the subdivision and its impact on the neighborhood, which is single-family homes.

“Our growth policy says not to undermine our neighborhoods’ residential character. I want more multi-family housing and I want there to be more inventory, but I think it needs to be responsible,” she said. “...Why are we making so many changes to allow them to put in 20 homes as opposed to if they followed the code they would only maybe get 14?”

She was referring to a planned unit development overlay for the project which made variances for property line setbacks and street width in order to fit the townhomes on the lot.

But Barnhart and city planner Eric Mulcahy noted that the higher density would mean more affordable homes, which is what Gilchrist was proposing. The plan is to create workforce housing.

“We’re trying to get housing that people can afford to get into,” Barnhart countered.

Single family houses on larger lots are running $600,000--$750,000 and more, he noted.

The subdivision does have a condition that prohibits short-term rentals, which have had a noticeable impact on the city’s housing inventory.

In the public hearing, Shirley Folkwein of the Upper Flathead Neighborhood Association said the association “basically supported the development,” though she suggested the trees lost on the lot be replaced by plantings elsewhere. She also suggested the development mitigate fire hazards, pointing to the recent fires in California that burned down entire neighborhoods near Los Angeles.

On the subject of trees, adjacent neighbor Chris Smith said there are some large trees on his property that overhang the Gilchrist lot. He asked that care be taken in pruning them when the houses went in.