The public on Tuesday can weigh in on a slew of proposed zoning ordinance changes meant to boost housing supply in Kalispell.  

The Kalispell Planning Commission meets at 6 p.m., Feb. 10 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.  

The amendments are intended to align with land use bills adopted by the 2023 and 2025 state Legislatures, one of which is the Montana Land Use Planning Act. Passed in 2023, the law required 10 cities, including Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls, to draft a new land use plan meant to guide the city’s growth for the next 20 years. The document focuses on increasing housing supply through zoning and subdivision regulation reforms.  

City staff — with the guidance of public input and the Planning Commission — have spent the last year and a half crafting the land use plan. 

Amendments recommended by city staff include adding duplexes and accessory dwelling units as permitted uses in all residential zones, changing multi-family dwellings from conditional uses to permitted uses in commercial and office zones, and reducing minimum lot sizes by 25%.  

The commission will also consider limiting parking requirements on new construction to fall in line with House Bill 492, which was signed into law last year.   

A PUBLIC hearing will also be held on a request for preliminary plat approval for two development phases at the Bloomstone neighborhood off Four Mile Drive.  

Kalispell National Multifamily, LLC is requesting preliminary plat approval to re-subdivide 12 acres of its property into three lots for multi-family units. The property was originally platted as a single lot, and the redrawing is primarily for financing purposes, according to a city staff report.  

The land wedged between the U.S. 93 Bypass and Treeline Road is intended to house 288 apartments. The property is a portion of the already approved Bloomstone planned unit development. 

The entire Bloomstone project was originally approved in 2008, but market conditions halted construction until 2015. The first phase included 96 apartments and 25 single-family residences. Phase 2 began construction in 2018 and included 36 townhouse units and 10 single family residences. Phase 3 is in design and includes 47 single family residences, according to A2Z Engineering.  

THE PUBLIC will also get a chance to weigh in on 54 residential lots proposed at the Starling subdivision in North Kalispell.  

The fifth and sixth phases consist of six detached single-family and 18 attached townhome lots on around 12.5 acres. The property is located just west of Stillwater Road, between Four Mile Drive and Old Reserve Drive.  

Council approved the entire planned unit development for the Starling neighborhood in 2022. The neighborhood has since been developed incrementally through a series of previously approved preliminary and final subdivision phases, according to a city staff report.  

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