Kalispell annexes nine tracts
Nine parcels of land totaling a little more than 10 acres are the newest additions to the city of Kalispell.
The City Council on Monday annexed the wholly surrounded land after receiving no protests from the 16 people and investment groups who own the tracts.
Some of them already thought their property was in the city. Some figured it would happen sooner or later. But none protested the inclusion of property that had been islands of county land within the city limits of Kalispell.
It's the second step in a process begun after a house burned on South Meridian Road, a house that was on land officially located in the county but surrounded by the city. The council directed city planning staffers to look into other such properties and, using a new link between GIS data and tax information, planners have spent the past two years identifying other wholly surrounded properties.
They placed the properties in groups based on issues such as availability of services. Last year the council annexed the first group, smaller parcels without structures.
Monday night they annexed two other groups - eight properties mostly near the city outskirts, with city sewer and water service at or near the property lines; and a group that contains the rear yards of three homes on Grandview Drive that share community water and septic systems but have city sewer and water available.
Most of them have homes on the land, city planner PJ Sorensen said.
A fourth group of parcels, those with larger extension-of-services questions, will be dealt with in the future.
Even though no property owners objected to the annexations, council members wanted to clarify details - owners can continue using private sewer and water systems until there is a failure, and state law requires them to connect if they're within 500 feet of a main line.
But council member Bob Hafferman insisted that the city's September 2004 general plan for extension of services is not specific enough for these annexed properties and that the city must bring properties up to city standards when annexing. He said the city was violating Montana law by not meeting those benchmarks.
However, City Attorney Charles Harball explained the city's 2004 extension-of-services plan lays out a course of action to be followed in all annexations, with specifics applied to each property as it arises.
The annexations approved Monday night will become effective on Oct. 21.
Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com