Kalispell City Council to work on apartment designs

During the Kalispell City Council work session tonight, the council will re-examine the conditional use permit request from Lofts at Ashley, LLC to build a 55-unit apartment complex.

The council tabled the matter last week after finding issue with a number of design specifications in the plan. Since that meeting, planning staff reworked the language in the three conditions in question and amended the permit to be reconsidered by the council. The first condition under review is what materials will be allowed to be used in the apartment build. Following the council’s temperature on repurposed wood, the planning staff is recommending that repurposed wood not be an allowed building material.

The second condition in review is the height requirements for the berm that will encircle the complex. While the initial condition allowed the berm to rise between 6 and 7 feet, the planning board is recommending the berm rise a “minimum” of 6 feet, to ensure it would reach the height requested by the adjacent neighborhood.

Additionally, at the council’s request, the planning staff is recommending that the city require a minimum 4-foot fence along the entire western property line.

In addition to the recommendations to the conditional use permit, the planning staff included a question for council to consider: “Are the proposed amendments to conditions... appropriate?” Typically, the architectural review committee is the governing body in regards to design standards.

The council will also discuss a request from Silverbrook Estates developers to amend the development plan for the 325-acre subdivision north of Kalispell.

Silvermont Properties, which owns the subdivision, is requesting the development plan approved by the city be amended to allow taller building height restrictions within the neighborhood. The request asks the city to change a condition in the development plan from setting the maximum gross square feet of the building to setting the maximum footprint, allowing two-story buildings within the same building footprint of 25,000 square feet.

According to a memo to the city, the developers are speaking with different businesses already planning buildings in the commercial zone.

The council will also discuss the city’s lighting maintenance fund, which has been operating under a new set of assessment criteria during the past year. As a result, the fund has improved, affording new capital improvement projects to be added to the city’s 2016/2017 budget.

During the meeting, the city will review and receive comments regarding the status of the fund, converting to LED lighting and potentially claiming the street lights located in Glacier Village Greens Subdivision.

The council meeting begins tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 201 First Avenue East.

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