A proposal to ship in a slew of small, prefabricated homes to be tucked away off Two Mile Drive is up for approval from Kalispell City Council on Monday night.  

Also on the docket for a Council vote is a plan to fast-track upgrades to the city’s wastewater treatment facility. Council will also decide whether to extend the Spring Creek Park subdivision’s preliminary plat and whether to issue bonds for construction at Immanuel Living.  

Council meets on Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. 

Texas-based developer, Vista Ridge Cottages, is looking to build 96 residential units — 53 detached single-family units and 43 townhomes — on nearly 16 acres off Two Mile Drive, east of the U.S. 93 Bypass.  

The developer is requesting annexation and zoning under residential apartment (RA-1) with a planned unit development overlay and preliminary plat approval. The city’s growth policy defines the land as zoned for high-density and urban residential. 

The Planning Commission endorsed the proposal and sent it before Council after holding a public hearing on Feb. 11. 

The minimum lot size is staked out at 3,200 square feet for single-family homes and 1,300 square feet for sublots. The neighborhood would be fitted with nearly three acres of parkland and shared front yards. 

The smaller size is intended to provide lower costs for first-time buyers, according to the subdivision proposal. 

The developer is partnering with Fading West to build the units, which will be constructed and shipped from its facility in Colorado. The modular home company was hired to send homes to Maui, Hawaii after wildfires devastated the island in 2023. 

DEVELOPERS OF the forthcoming Spring Creek Park subdivision are requesting an extension to its preliminary plat by two years.  

While the preliminary plat for phase one of the massive subdivision was approved in March 2022, it expires next month.  

The request for an extension comes from persistent issues “such as inflation, market fluctuations and labor shortages, which have delayed our ability to finalize plans in a timely manner,” read the extension request.   

The entire subdivision is planned to include more than 600 housing units, along with commercial lots and a park area to the east of West Springcreek Road. Phase one of the project would create 65 detached single-family lots and 95 townhome lots with close to eight acres of common area.  

Developer GKM Associates LLC intends to begin construction in the spring.  

COUNCIL WILL also vote on adopting a new project plan to hasten upgrades for the city’s wastewater treatment facility.  

Councilors appeared in agreement during a Feb. 26 meeting to move forward with the plan, which is aimed at helping the city meet a fast-approaching deadline to complete the construction. The city is also struggling to find an interested contractor for the work.  

Contrary to the typical linear method of developing design plans and then bidding for a contractor, the city would hire a contractor during the design process, shortening the timeline and stoking collaboration between stakeholders. 

The facility upgrades will allow the city to ship its biosolids to the Flathead County Landfill after decades of sending the majority of its biosolids to Glacier Gold Composting, which is closing down.  

The city reached an agreement with Glacier Gold to continue taking in its biosolids until the upgrades are completed, which are expected in the fall of 2026.  

IMMANNUEL LIVING is requesting that the city authorize the issuance of a bond package of up to $100 million to finance capital improvements at its Buffalo Hill Campus and refinance bonds previously provided through the city.  

The request notes that the city has authorized bonds to Immanuel Living to ramp up its senior living campus over the past three decades. The proposed bonds would be issued as tax-exempt and a private bank will provide the funds, according to official documents.  

On Council’s consent agenda, the city will pay AADS Office Solutions Int’l LLC $121,900 to build a new locker storage system for the Kalispell Police Department’s new building downtown, which was previously occupied by the Parks and Recreation Department. 

Council will also confirm Kalispell Police officers Chris Olsen and Cat Edson. 

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.