Kalispell reiterates stance on highway zoning

The Kalispell City Council on Monday supported partial involvement in a Montana Supreme Court case between Flathead County and Citizens for a Better Flathead.

The council discussed a request from the city of Whitefish for Kalispell to submit support for Citizens for a Better Flathead in a Supreme Court case that could eliminate the B-2HG county zoning amendment.

The zoning classification, which allows for multiple commercial development types, is the basis for a lawsuit Citizens for a Better Flathead brought against Flathead County in 2013.

Citizens asserted in the suit that the county failed to comply with state regulations requiring county zoning to be compatible with zoning and growth policies of nearby municipalities. In their respective growth policies, Kalispell and Whitefish have both pushed for minimal development along the U.S. 93 corridor between the two cities.

On Tuesday, Kalispell City Manager Doug Russell submitted two letters to the Montana League of Cities and Towns that Kalispell previously submitted to the county against the zoning amendment.

“We’ve submitted the testimony that we’ve provided previously to the county, and we stand behind that,” Russell said. “We won’t be a plaintiff in the case. The league will consider whether or not to submit an amicus brief.”

At Monday’s work session, council member Jim Atkinson said he didn’t want the corridor between Kalispell and Whitefish to someday look like the U.S. 2 corridor between Kalispell and Columbia Falls.

“I feel like we need to have a voice in the Supreme Court,” Atkinson said. “I’m in favor of doing that. Every time I drive to Columbia Falls I gripe.”

Citizens for a Better Flathead won the lawsuit at a district level and the county has appealed to the Montana Supreme Court.

In February, Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs wrote to the Montana League of Cities, asking for the group to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in an effort to show statewide support for municipalities challenging development along county-zoned state and federal highways. Whitefish has also requested that Kalispell reach out to the League of Cities and Towns.

Some council members were concerned that the city’s support for Citizens of a Better Flathead might sour its relationship with the county.

Council member Wayne Saverud said he thought softening the council’s stance on the growth policy would be failing the policy itself.

“I don’t think we should sit on our hands if it’s something important just because it might get someone upset with us,” Saverud said. “One way or another, I think we should stand by this if it’s important — and I think that it is.”

Mayre Flowers, executive director of the Citizens for a Better Flathead, was at Monday’s work session to provide additional information on the Supreme Court appeal.

“I believe the briefs are due in early April, so there’s a very short window,” Flowers said. “The League of Cities would have to move on this fairly quickly.”

Russell suggested submitting both letters the city had previously sent to the county in 2010 and 2011 during the initial comment period before the county implemented the zoning.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.