Neighbors sue over parking

A new parking district does little to alleviate problems faced by people who live near Flathead High School and should be declared unconstitutional, a newly formed neighborhood association claimed in a lawsuit filed Thursday against the city of Kalispell.

The Westside Neighborhood Association has asked Flathead District Judge Heidi Ulbricht to toss out the city’s parking-district ordinance and require the city to go back to the drawing board to create something more acceptable for residents.

The ordinance approved this summer created a parking district near Flathead High School, which has an enrollment of more than 1,500 students.

The ordinance set up a 15-block area east of Flathead High for permitted parking, effective last week when school resumed.

The school has a long-standing parking shortage, causing students and teachers to park in residential areas.

In the lawsuit, the neighborhood association claims that the traffic congestion creates a safety hazard.

The association gave an example of a time last winter when emergency vehicles allegedly could not access a property during a fire because of parked student and teacher vehicles.  

Under the new ordinance, parking in the district requires a permit. Two free permits are issued to residents who also have access to a $10 guest parking pass. Students and teachers can purchase parking passes for the neighborhood for $25.

“The problem is that the students and teachers have unlimited permits available to them,” Westside Neighborhood Association attorney Sean Frampton said. “So if the residents get two permits and the students and teachers get unlimited permits for $25 — and why wouldn’t they? — they didn’t fix the problem. They just created a paid parking district.”

The city of Kalispell had not been served with the lawsuit as of Friday morning, but City Attorney Charlie Harball was able to obtain a copy and review it.

He said he couldn’t speak to the merits of the lawsuit, but he was not surprised that the neighborhood association took legal action.

“You are never going to make everyone happy,” Harball said. “This is part of the process.”

Harball said many meetings have been held over the years to attempt to give residents some relief.

“It was worse before Glacier High School was created,” Harball said. “I’d venture to say the congestion is less than what it used to be. Everybody needs to work together. It’s just tough having that much traffic in a residential area.”  

In addition to the parking district, Kalispell Public Schools officials agreed in April to create 21 new parking spaces.

Mike Bolog lives in the neighborhood and said that he hasn’t noticed a difference since the ordinance went into place. High school students still park in front of his house.

“It’s been about the same,” Bolog said.

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.