Kalispell Council considers youth center development project
An artist rendering by Cushing Terrell Architects shows the Flathead Valley Youth Center, a center directed at athletics and arts being developed by a nonprofit, planned for just north of Kalispell.
A roughly 40-acre project on the north end of Kalispell that includes a youth center, along with commercial uses and housing, goes before City Council Monday night.
Council is set to consider the multi-use project known as Farm District for property located on Church Drive near U.S. 93. The property is undeveloped.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the City Hall, 201 First Avenue East.
Kelcey and Tawnya Bingham, with the Flathead Valley Youth Center nonprofit, are behind the effort to create the multi-use development. A 140,000-square-foot youth center designed for athletic, arts and other programs serves as the centerpiece of the project that also calls for commercial development and has the potential for 102 residential units.
The Binghams have submitted an application to the city for annexation, initial zoning of B-2 general business with a commercial planned unit development overlay for the property that is 37.6-acres in size.
Commercial uses include a small neighborhood grocery store, restaurant/brew pub, boutique hotel, small gas station and some office space. The office space is expected to be on the first floor with residential use on the second floor.
The western edge of the project features townhouse and cottage home designs geared to workforce housing with smaller floor plans and yard areas, the application notes.
The Farm District proposes a central green space and park at 2.75 acres and an area for outdoor youth activities just west of the youth center. Open space buffers are planned along transportation corridors totaling about 8 acres.
Expected to be developed in six phases, the project is slated to begin this year with work running through 2028. The youth athletic and arts center is set to be constructed first, followed by commercial areas of the project and then housing.
COUNCIL IS poised to vote on a resolution that sets a public hearing for July 5 to take comments on proposed increases to garbage collection rates. The city is considering rate increases due to inflationary pressures and as part of a goal to serve more areas of the city.
The city is considering increasing the garbage collection rates over several years for both residential and commercial users. Users would see a 15% increase in the first fiscal year, followed by 5% increases in the next three fiscal years.
The residential rate would go from the current rate of $111 to $128 in the first year. The rate would reach $148 in fiscal year 2026.
The commercial rate for 300-gallon containers would go from $338 to $389 in the first year and eventually reach $449. The commercial rate for 400-gallon containers would increase from $411 to $473 and then, in the last year, hit $548.
The last time city solid waste rates, which are collected through property tax assessments, were increased was in 2011 and that was by $3 per year.
The proposed rate increase comes after city staff began reviewing the solid waste service fund in preparation for the city’s fiscal year 2023 budget. Staff found that revenue generated from the current assessment rates will not sustain the current level of service beyond the next fiscal year. Additionally, service capacities are nearing the point of where staffing and equipment can no longer support additional residential and commercial accounts.
ALSO ON the agenda, Council will consider a commercial planned unit development overlay on about 9.72 acres at 3178 U.S. 93 South for a proposed truck and RV center. The property is located on U.S. 93 near the south end of the bypass.
JCA Management LLC is requesting the PUD to develop Noeller Truck and RV on the vacant property. The property also fronts Basecamp Drive with access to the bypass.
Council is set to vote on a request from Spartan Holdings to amend the Eagle Valley Ranch PUD to include the addition of 6.78 acres is also on the agenda. Spartan is requesting a growth policy map amendment as well and annexation and initial zoning for the property at 3201 U.S. 93 North.
The developer of Eagle Valley Ranch has acquired land adjacent to their development that includes Home Outfitters, which has sat empty since 2012, and is requesting it be included in the subdivision planned to include single-family and multifamily housing. The property is 1.35 acres.
The developer is looking to extend the RA-2 zoning to the property that is intended to accommodate small-scale commercial spaces as a transition into the single-family housing lots.
THE MOBILE home community, known as Morning Star Community, goes before Council in its requests for annexation into the city and initial R-4 residential zoning. The community is located at 1717 South Woodland Drive and is just under 6 acres in size.
The proposal is to annex the existing mobile home community to allow for the units to connect to the city sewer system. The community includes 41 residential units.
For more information, visit the city’s website at https://www.kalispell.com.
Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.