Planners look at U.S. 93 coordination

Is a coordinated effort in the works to save the U.S. 93 corridor from Kalispell to Whitefish from helter-skelter development?

Planning boards from across the valley met Tuesday and agreed to work together on such an idea.

Specifically, planning boards from Kalispell, Whitefish and Flathead County said they would write letters to their respective councils and commissioners to propose they work together on the idea.

Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz initiated the meeting at Kalispell City Hall.

A consensus from attendees was that Flathead County draws people to live, work and shop. With that in mind, keeping it looking nice should be a priority, especially given the economic downturn.

“If politics make strange bedfellows, economics can make even stranger,” Flathead County Planning Board Chairman Gordon Cross said.

Jentz detailed things Kalispell has done to keep the U.S. 93 corridor looking nice, including requiring trails, earthen berms, landscaping, “four-sided architecture” that is pleasant viewing from the rear for those who live behind a building, limited highway access, adding frontage roads, and expanded setbacks.

Silverbrook Estates, Lowe’s/Costco, the Buffalo Commons development and medical facilities are some examples Jentz gave.

“Our goal is to not have a continuous strip of stoplights which slow traffic down, uncontrolled driveways with access onto the highway,” he said.

“We want better architecture, signing, lighting and setbacks. The goal is to keep Highway 93 flowing as a highway while allowing development. We don’t want to have happening what’s happening between the Blue Moon and Evergreen. Everyone driving down that highway is affected by lack of planning.”

The same design features as seen with Silverbrook Estates have been incorporated into plans for several projects that have not been built yet along U.S. 93, Jentz said.

Flathead County Planning Director B.J. Grieve said the county planning office doesn’t have the same tools that the cities have, but added that such goals could be achieved by developing an overlay plan and overlay zone.

Getting county commissioners’ support for such an idea will be critical.

On Thursday, Commissioner Jim Dupont said he’s open to the concept. “The issue is how much are we going to control it?” Dupont asked.

“I’d hate to see it be like a continuous strip of businesses from Kalispell to Whitefish,” he said, noting most of the U.S. 93 corridor is in his district.

Jentz and others said the county can exact concessions from landowners who want to rezone their agricultural property to commercial.

Jentz said landowners who purchased property adjacent to U.S. 93 in the last 17 years have largely done so as speculators.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinter-lake.com.