Kalispell City Council to discuss creating city code enforcement program

Kalispell City Council on Monday will consider hiring code enforcement personnel to oversee several areas of municipal code.  

A code enforcement program would have jurisdiction over zoning regulations, boulevards, community decay, sidewalks, junk vehicles, landscaping, snow removal, weeds, street visibility, commercial signs and right-of-way encroachment.  

Council meets at 7 p.m., March 24 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.   

Unlike the other large cities in Montana, Kalispell does not have any dedicated code enforcement personnel. Billings has seven, Helena has two and Bozeman has four, according to city officials.  

Talks over creating a code enforcement program emerged as Council amended the municipal fire code to allow the city to abate vacant and unsafe buildings.  

While the amendment was passed, City Manager Doug Russell warned that enforcing the code will take resources that the city lacks, leaving the responsibility to the Fire or Planning departments.  

The amendment was a response to the former Outlaw Inn property, which sat in disrepair for two years after being bought by Oregon-based real estate enterprise Fortify Holdings in 2022.  

Originally intended to be multi-family apartments, the property instead turned into a hotspot for vandalism and vagrants, posing a safety risk to neighbors and nearby businesses.  

In January, Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis bought the promissory note and deed of trust on the south Kalispell property, which is in foreclosure. Ruis lined the property with a chain-link fence and scaffolding after buying the note.  

The limited liability company, Outlaw Apartments, was assigned as the new lender for the land from Western Security Bank, according to documents filed in Flathead County detailing the arrangement. 

Outlaw Apartments is seeking the sale of the land to satisfy the property owner’s debts. The property owner has until the May 5 trustee sale date to pay the more than $6 million owed.     

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