Kalispell annexation proposal delayed

Council decides subdivision near Ponderosa Estates needs further study.

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

The Kalispell City Council put on hold Monday a proposed annexation of an 81-acre subdivision south of Ponderosa Estates.

But the council is unsure what it wants from the developer - Gateway Properties Inc. - to put the annexation proposal back into motion.

The council plans to discuss that question at a workshop session next Monday.

The project - Valley Ranch - is opposed by the majority of Ponderosa's households, but has unanimous support of the Kalispell Planning Board.

Gateway wants to build 204 houses, 29 townhouses and an assisted-living center with as many as 120 units.

Gateway seeks annexation with some zoning modifications - dubbed a "planned unit development" - that would allow the proposed construction.

A planned-unit development is a type of contract in which the city relaxes some zoning restrictions in return for the developer promising to put in specific mitigation measures.

Valley Ranch is east of U.S. 93 and touches the northern border of developer Bucky Wolford's Glacier Town Center mall-and-housing project, plus the south side of Ponderosa Estates. Wolford expects to seek annexation soon for the 481-acre Glacier Town Center, but a timetable is still up in the air.

Fifty-three of 73 Ponderosa Estate households turned in a 12-page protest against annexing Valley Ranch. Consequently, state law requires six out of nine council members to support Gateway's requests before they can be approved.

Ponderosa's opposition generally is based on Valley Ranch designed to be more densely populated than Ponderosa Estates, plus what the residents believe are incompletely answered matters in Gateway's plans.

However, the developers contend they have adequately addressed those concerns.

Valley Ranch's plans comply with Kalispell's growth policies governing areas that seek annexation, the Kalispell Planning Board decided May 8.

On Monday, some council members agreed that Gateway's plans have some matters that need to be addressed before they would proceed with an annexation decision. Those council members want to nail down enough traffic routes to the south through Glacier Town Center and to the east to avoid a significant amount of Valley Ranch traffic entering and leaving U.S. 93 to the west.

Council members Bob Hafferman, Tim Kluesner, Duane Larson, Wayne Saverud and Randy Kenyon voted to delay action on the annexation request until some matters - such as the traffic question - are addressed to their satisfaction.

Mayor Pam Kennedy and council members Jim Atkinson, Hank Olson and Kari Gabriel opposed delaying the annexation decision.

The combined Valley Ranch and Glacier Town Center annexations would extend Kalispell city limits from West Reserve Drive to Ponderosa Estates.

Also Monday, the council:

• Annexed 8.8 acres of Ashley Park Phase 9, with zoning to allow preliminary plans for 10 single-family houses and 24 townhouses.

• Reappointed Rick Hull and appointed Jim Williamson to the Kalispell Planning Board. Williamson replaces board chairman Tim Norton.

• Gave final approval to creating a drug and alcohol court as part of Kalispell's municipal court system.

Read Wednesday's Inter Lake for further details