Kalispell council to take up parking

The Daily Inter Lake

Owners of new construction in downtown Kalispell face the potential of either creating new parking spaces or paying one-time fees to the city.

The Kalispell City Council will look at this proposed set-up today at a workshop session at which no votes are legally allowed.

Parking is tight in the downtown area with little, if any, room for new spaces.

Consequently, the City Council decided last year that any new construction in the downtown area must provide one new parking space for every 400 square feet built.

However, the lack of room for new parking spaces has the council considering charging any new construction $8,200 for any required parking space that cannot be built - giving builders a choice between the fee or creating new parking spaces.

This proposed fee would be applied to a downtown zone bound by Third Avenue East to the east, Fifth Street on the south, Third Avenue West to the west and Center Street to the north.

Also at 7 p.m., the council is scheduled to discuss setting new fees for the city's several dozen parks and recreation programs.

During fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30, the city collected $399,500 in such fees. In fiscal 2008, which began July 1, it has collected $177,493, expecting to gather $439,500 for the entire fiscal year.