Board gives nod to two Kalispell projects
Signs. How many do you get?
That topic dominated discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Kalispell Planning Board.
Planning Board members signed off on plans for a new Town Pump gas station and the Spring Prairie Center Phase 4 shopping center in north Kalispell.
The permits didn’t make it passed the board unscathed, however. They came with conditions, one being the allowed number of signs for the Spring Prairie shopping center.
Karen Blumenstein, who represents the developer, asked the board to expand a city staff condition that the complex put up only one sign.
“What we’re really looking for is accepting the one main sign and then, adding along Old Reserve, a similar large sign so that we can ensure traffic knows the orientations and when to access the property,” she said.
The Spring Prairie Phase 4 project would be a 28-acre shopping center between Costco and the Kidsports Complex. Planned by the Missouri-based Kroenke Group, it would consist of 14 commercial lots.
Representatives from the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the Kidsports board voiced support for the project. It will include walking trails connecting with Kidsports.
Among a list of 30 permit conditions for the project, the staff report limited the development to one large freestanding sign. Tom Jentz, the city’s planning and building director, said the city has tried to reduce the sign clutter on the highway through the commercial boom.
In general, each parcel of roughly 25 acres has been allocated one roadside sign. Jentz said the planning staff recommended the same condition for previous developments.
“The signage provision is the same that we used for the Hutton Ranch Project,” he said. “It’s the same provision we used for Home Depot/Target.”
Blumenstein said that in addition to a sign on U.S. 93, a second one on Old Reserve Drive would help direct drivers and reduce congestion on the main highway.
The sign discussion went back and forth for nearly an hour. Some board members said that it made sense to add the second sign. Others didn’t want to break from years of policy standards. Blumenstein argued for two.
Board member Charles Pesola eventually called for an amendment that allows two signs. After further discussion, it passed unanimously with board members Doug Kauffman and Steve Lorch abstaining.
Also on the Planning Board agenda was a proposed Town Pump gas station on West Reserve Drive next to Eisinger Motors.
Formerly home to The River church, the 4-acre parcel would be annexed into the city. It’s proposed by Eureka Town Pump Inc. and would include gas pumps, convenience store and casino.
The casino component drew concern from board members and the public.
“This would be the first casino north of Idaho [Street],” Senior Planner Jarod Nygren said in his staff report.
Due to a mixture of factors, developments on that side of town haven’t included casinos. Jentz said that sometimes a developer prohibited them in a plan while at other times zoning restrictions prevented casinos.
City ordinance requires a 300-foot buffer between a casino and a school, park or other casino.
The West Reserve site meets zoning criteria, but the board discussed whether or not a casino should be placed in the area. Two Kalispell residents spoke out against the supposed harmful cultural effects of that type of business.
Six provisions came before the Planning Board.
Included with the Spring Prairie project were requests for amending the city’s growth policy, a zoning change, a planned unit development plan and a major subdivision preliminary plat. On the Town Pump project, the board reviewed a conditional use permit and a request for annexation and rezoning.
The board voted to recommend approval of all items, including the casino, with a condition that signs that advertise gambling would be prohibited.
One board member, Matt Reiger, voted against the motion.
The recommendations will be passed along to the Kalispell City Council for final approval. The next council meeting is March 16.