Flathead building permits surpass 2015 mark

Permits filed with Flathead cities and the county in 2016 are pointing to future growth in the residential, commercial and health care sectors, with building permits and zone-change requests booming over 2015’s mark in some areas.

In Whitefish, multi-family building permits increased from two in 2015 to 11 last year, going from seven new multi-family units to 91 in a year. Sixty of those 91 new units will come with the Whitefish Crossing apartment project on U.S. 93 South.

“The numbers show there was a huge shortage of rentals and affordable housing,” Whitefish City Planner Dave Taylor said. “In response to that, developers decided to do more apartments because there’s a need.”

Only 10 multi-family building permits have been approved in Whitefish since 2007.

Whitefish issued 49 single-family permits in 2016, up just one permit compared to the previous year. Single-family home construction has been trending downward in the resort town with 75 permits in 2013, 72 in 2014 and 48 in 2015.

By comparison, Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said the demand for residential development is continuing to build in the city. In Kalispell, 136 permits for single-family and duplex units were filed with the city in 2016, up from 82 in 2015. City staff noted the rise in development in October, when building permits reached 110, compared to 52 through the same time in 2015.

“From my perspective, there’s tremendous residential pressure in the valley right now,” Jentz said. “The biggest thing holding development back in Kalispell is we don’t have enough developable lots.”

Jentz said there are plots available for residential development scattered throughout the county, so some builders are taking their projects there, rather than approaching a city lot that would require more permitting and development phases.

“If you can find cheaper lots, that’s where the community goes,” he said.

AT THE Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office, growth isn’t measured in building permits but instead with zone-change requests that typically prelude new development. In 2016 zone-change requests doubled to 18 from nine in 2015. County Planning Director Mark Mussman said that’s the most requests his office has seen since 2006.

“It does kind of indicate that development activity is picking up because something results in the zone-change request,” Mussman said. “Then we have additional economic and construction activity as a result. Some of it, when it leads to a subdivision, especially the larger scale subdivisions, it snowballs into more economic activity beyond our scope.”

Mussman said he believes the steady hike in zoning requests is a natural recovery from the 2008 recession. In 2006, 20 zone change requests were filed with the county, Mussman said. The drop was noticeable in 2009, when the county received eight requests, and another eight in 2010. The number continued to fall with five requests in 2011, to its lowest point, two requests in 2012. Zoning requests started climbing the next year with five requests in 2013, then six in 2014 and nine in 2015.

Zone-change requests didn’t hit the floor in 2008 or 2009, possibly because those projects had been planned and properly financed before the recession hit, Mussman said. Things started to slow down when financing became more restricted for new, less concrete development projects. Now, Mussman believes developers are being more thorough in developing projects in order to get those projects through.

“During the height of the bubble there was just a lot of bad ideas,” he said. “When everybody just thinks, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ some of them will go belly up and leave a big hole.”

He said looking at zone-change requests through the last year, most have been regarding areas near the population centers of the county, like Kalispell and Whitefish. Some of the requests permitted will lead to future subdivisions in the area, others will set the stage for new business development near the cities within the county. Mussman said today, cautious and careful planning is leading to more development.

“People are still cautious enough but feel comfortable enough to look into making some investment in their property, which makes it a little bit easier for departments like ours that we’re not slammed with a whole bunch of stuff,” he said. “As long as people remain active and cautious and only the solid projects come forward.”

Taylor in Whitefish also noted the climb in commercial activity, with new buildings, remodels and additions both up over 2015.

“A lot of stuff is getting redeveloped, like older buildings being fixed up or torn down,” Taylor said. “Which certainly adds some tax value to the downtown core.”

Back in Kalispell, Jentz said although some planners are headed to the county for projects, multi-family project developers are still interested in real estate inside the city. Although no projects have been submitted with the city yet, he said a handful of developers are talking about separate projects that could add a potential 500 new units in town. The reality, though, is that if three or four projects are in discussion, it’s likely that only a few will follow through to completion, Jentz said.

With large-scale residential projects in the works, including the student-housing project at Flathead Valley Community College and the Cottages residential project at Immanuel Lutheran Communities, Jentz said those developments address more than just a housing issue.

“It’s great for employment,” Jentz said. “The downside of construction is it’s short term. The good side of these projects is they’re longer and provide more stable employment.”

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