Kalispell council to discuss downtown plan, tricky intersection
The text of the Downtown Kalispell Urban Renewal Plan, described as a refined version of a downtown plan adopted last year, acknowledges that some people bristle when hearing the word “blight.”
The text notes, “So as not to offend property owners or community members, it should be noted that ‘blight’ is a word of choice used in Montana to define negative aspects of a particular urban setting so that they can be identified and remedied.”
The downtown plan identifies several less than ideal characteristics of downtown Kalispell and proposes remedies.
Tonight’s work session of the Kalispell City Council will include discussion of the revised plan.
Council also will discuss proposed changes to the intersection of 18th Street and Airport Road in south Kalispell.
As for downtown, remedies might include, among others: a parking garage; improving infrastructure to make water more accessible to and affordable for downtown businesses; re-establishing the historic center-lane landscape median and widening sidewalks to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly.
The plan notes that “the single greatest issue in downtown Kalispell is ready access to water along Main Street.” A municipal water main runs down the east side of Main Street, about eight feet from the curb, and tapping into this line can be expensive for properties on the east side of Main Street and prohibitively costly for properties to the west. That expense can inhibit development of second floor or basement properties with insufficient water flow to meet fire codes, the plan reports.
The funding source for the remedies cited above? Perhaps a new Tax Increment Financing District for downtown.
“We do not have a current TIF for any of the downtown from First Streets east and west down to the courthouse,” Kalispell Planning Director Tom Jentz said. A separate TIF covers a separate portion of downtown, he said.
Tax-increment districts allow municipalities to capture additional taxes as a district increases in value. Property owners in the district do not shoulder increases in property taxes. Such districts hinge on blight said to limit new development in the district.
Meanwhile, funding from a separate TIF designed to make improvements to the vicinity of south Kalispell and Airport Road could help pay for changes at the current intersection of 18th Street and Airport Road.
Today, 18th Street’s layout between its crossing of Airport Road and 1st Avenue West resembles a dogleg. The road doesn’t shoot straight through from U.S. 93.
The proposed remedy would abandon the block of 18th Street between Airport Road and First Avenue West and carve a new connection a short distance north — cutting through a vacant lot owned by the city.
This approach would create a paved lot that could provide parking for Legends Stadium and a place to store snow during the winter for road crews.
City Council’s work session begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall at 201 First Ave. E.
Reporter Duncan Adams may be reached at dadams@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4407.