Willow Creek project still raises many questions

The proposed 580-home Willow Creek project will likely seek a green light from the Kalispell City Council by the end of the year.

But will it stay at 580 homes or try for less? No one knows.

What does the City Council think about that number? It gave mixed messages Monday.

Will the project try to work its way through the Kalispell Planning Board again? That's another unknown.

Developers Wayne and Hubert Turner have been trying to get Planning Board support to annex the 140-acre site - with the appropriate residential zoning and modifications to allow extra homes - just southwest of Kalispell since late 2006.

While issues such as drainage, water rights and traffic have been debated, the main dispute has been density.

The site's rural neighbors and the majority of the Planning Board objected to proposals of 711, 710, 690 and 580 housing units for Willow Creek - contending those cram too much into the site.

The Planning Board's last rejection was July 10.

On Monday, the Turners and their staff briefed the City Council on their proposal for 580 homes - 396 single-family houses and 184 condominiums. The construction is expected to take seven to 10 years.

That translates to 4.14 homes per acre. However, 22 percent of the site is earmarked for parks and open spaces.

"There are projects in town that were approved recently that are more dense," Hubert Turner said. That was an apparent reference to annexed sites north and northwest of Kalispell that would average almost five homes per acre in some construction phases.

Council members Bob Hafferman, Tim Kluesner and Wayne Saverud supported the project Monday.

"I think the density is fine. It's right next to the city. I can't think of a better place to put houses than next to town," Hafferman said.

Council Member Hank Olson said: "I could give up resistance to the density if they build very affordable homes in there."

Mayor Pam Kennedy and council member Jim Atkinson voiced concerns about the proposed density. Kennedy pointed to the 580 homes leading to narrower-than-normal streets and a shortage of parking spaces.

No consensus or majority on density emerged from Monday's council workshop session, at which no votes were legally allowed.

After the council's discussion, Hubert Turner said the developers haven't decided whether to trim the 580-home number or whether they will return to the Planning Board to seek its blessing on a revised proposal.

Right now, the Planning Board's formal recommendation is to reject the sought-after zoning modifications needed for a 580-home project. However, that recommendation is not binding on the council.

In a related matter, the Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing and vote for Sept. 11 on whether to change the city growth policy to designate 100 acres southwest of Kalispell for suburban residential use instead of its current industrial use.

Those 100 acres included 30 acres of Willow Creek that the Planning Board previously recommended that the council redesignate for suburban use - a recommendation that the council rejected on July 16.

The remaining 110 acres of Willow Creek already are in an area designated for suburban residential use in the growth policy. That policy is used for land-use planning purposes regarding future annexations.

The city planning staff believes the council is willing to change its mind on the rejected 30-acre change. The staff sees the proposed change as a housekeeping measure to allow homes to be built in the overall area that is outside city limits but facing probable annexation.

Although the land currently is earmarked for industrial use, no industrial projects have been proposed for that area, which sits between residential city land and residential rural land.