Kalispell City Council looks at 112-acre annexation, subdivision off Three Mile

The Kalispell City Council tonight will discuss a 112-acre annexation of undeveloped land that would become a residential subdivision northwest of West Springcreek Road and Three Mile Drive.

The application from Meadow’s Edge LLC proposes 322 units on 218 residential lots. It would also include 5.7 combined acres of neighborhood commercial development, parkland, other open space, city streets and stormwater space.

The property currently is undeveloped farmland and wetland, according to a Kalispell Planning Department report. It is currently under Flathead County jurisdiction and zoned for agricultural use.

The proposed annexation and subdivision is kitty-corner to a separate 90-acre subdivision that is under consideration by Kalispell City Council. That development is southeast of the intersection of Three Mile Drive and West Springcreek Road.

The Planning Department report notes the area is in a state of rapid transition. It is surrounded on several sides by single-family homes on large plots and is near what will likely be more urban residential development in the near future.

The upcoming westside interceptor sewer project would service the development. The project would not overburden police or fire department services in the city, according to the staff report.

The planning board recommended approval of the annexation and subdivision plans at their May meeting.

Here’s what else is going on at the Kalispell City Council meeting on Monday night:

- SA Properties, LLC is requesting a conditional use permit to allow a heating, ventilation and air conditioning business to go in at 707 West Center Street.

The property abuts the railroad tracks, and there was some conversation at the planning board meeting that this wasn’t the best type of business to border the future trail.

The property owner spoke at the meeting and said that he only saw this as a placeholder business until the time that the tracks are removed from downtown, at which point he hoped to capitalize on being so close and do something else with the space. The planning board recommended approval of the conditional use permit.

- The council will also vote on the adoption of a new negotiated collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 256, the local chapter of the nationwide union that represents public service employees.

The council will also vote on a separate resolution that gives non-union employees an annual raise of 2.55 percent, which is consistent with the average total raise that the unionized employees will be receiving.

- The council will also vote on a resolution supporting the Montana Department of Transportation to submit for a federal U.S. Department of Transportation grant to complete the U.S. 93 bypass. Completion of the project would include removing the roundabouts at the southern end and expanding the southern portion to four lanes. The total project is projected to cost in the neighborhood of $20 million, though it will likely be built, and funded, in two separate pieces of relatively equal size.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.