Don't put up roadblocks to growth

Inter Lake editorial

There's an unusual development that has cropped up regarding growth on Kalispell's north side.

The state Department of Environmental Quality has told the city of Kalispell that a possible lack of future sewer-line capacity could hamper the state's willingness to approve preliminary plats in northern Kalispell.

The state agency is concerned that, if all the homes proposed in already-approved preliminary plats were to be built, that would reach the capacity for the sole primary sewer line serving northern Kalispell.

So the state - which has to sign off on preliminary plats - is reluctant to OK new development. This has the potential to put a screeching halt to growth. "This has profound financial implications for the community," City Public Works Director Jim Hansz told the City Council last week.

There is a plan to build a new main sewer line from the north side of town, but that project could be years away and is likely to be fairly expensive.

In the meantime, the city is stepping back from preliminary plat approval, too, in light of the state's stance.

The state position conflicts with Kalispell's practice of allowing whichever developer moves the fastest to get access to sewer services.

This has been a logical practice, since preliminary plats don't always translate to reality: Projects sometimes are canceled or may take anywhere from months to 20 years to be built.

The upshot of all this is that the city needs to iron out its differences with the state over sewer lines.

The fairest system still is granting sewer privileges on a first-come, first-served basis - and the city should do everything it can to make sure a vague state mandate doesn't put an abrupt halt to growth (or even the possibility of growth).