Council to discuss northern expansion
Subdivision north of town wants to annex into Kalispell
The Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell City Council members will discuss tonight what they think about an 81-acre subdivision seeking annexation into the city.
The Valley Ranch subdivision is earmarked to hold 222 single-family houses plus 80 assisted living units and 20 independent living units inside an assisted living complex.
The Kalispell Planning Board supports the subdivision's proposed single-family zoning along with its sought-after modifications. But the majority of the households in unincorporated Ponderosa Estates along Valley Ranch's northern border oppose the project because of its proposed housing density.
Valley Ranch is one of four projects that - if all are annexed - would extend Kalispell north along the U.S. 93 corridor to Church Drive and Ponderosa Estates, adding almost 1.7 square miles to the city.
The four projects are:
-The 481-acre Glacier Town Center - a mixed retail-and-housing project - being put together by developer Bucky Wolford. It would extend Kalispell north from West Reserve Drive along the east side of the U.S. 93 corridor. Wolford is expected to seek annexation sometime this year.
-Valley Ranch. If annexed, it would stretch Kalispell from Glacier Town Center to Ponderosa Estates.
-The 181-acre Flathead Village Greens, which on Tuesday will seek a Kalispell Planning Board recommendation for single-family housing zoning. It then will seek annexation from the City Council. This project is along U.S. 93's west side and is across the highway from Valley Ranch.
-The 325-acre Silverbrook Estates west of U.S. 93. This extends from Flathead Village Greens to Church Drive. It already has been annexed.
Tonight's council meeting is a workshop session, at which no votes are legally allowed. Also at 7 p.m. today, the council is scheduled to:
-Discuss the proposed $39 million public works budget for fiscal 2008, which begins July 1. That amount includes a significant chunk for greatly expanding the city's sewage treatment plant.
Overall the city government's proposed fiscal 2008 budget is $63.246 million, with would be down from fiscal 2007's predicted $65.028 million.