Kalispell Council set to vote on senior housing complex

Kalispell City Council on Monday will consider approval of a request for a senior affordable housing complex proposal adjacent to the Gateway Community Center.

The project, known as Creekside Commons, includes 31 apartments for residents age 55 and older. The units would be income and rent-restricted.

The one-acre property is located at 1203 U.S. Highway 2 West, in the northern portion of the Gateway Community Center’s parking lot.

In 2020, Creekside Commons earned $6.4 million in housing tax credits from the Montana Board of Housing.

Housing Solutions, the Missoula-based firm behind the project, provides planning and development services for affordable housing communities using Housing Tax Credit financing. Housing Solutions is requesting a conditional use permit for the multi-family residential development and a major preliminary plat approval for the project.

ANOTHER HOUSING proposal for a 37-lot residential subdivision is also up for consideration.

Stillwater Corporation is asking for preliminary plat approval for a major residential subdivision on approximately 10.6 acres on the east side of Jefferson Boulevard, on the north and south side of Rose Crossing.

The property is currently vacant, but is zoned R-3 residential with a planned unit development overlay.

This is the fifth phase of a larger 485.5-acre project that encompasses R-3 single-family residential, R-4 two-family residential, B-1 neighborhood business and B-2 general business zoning designations.

The project includes the creation of three new city streets, two running east to west and one running north to south.

TWO PUBLIC hearings are scheduled.

Council will accept comments on a proposed change for city sewer regulations regarding Evergreen customers. The Evergreen Water and Sewer District Board recently adopted a new meter fee of $3 to pay for providing the water meter information for sewer customers to the city.

Previously the district provided the information free of charge. To accommodate the new fee, the city must update its regulations.

The other hearing is regarding amendments to the city’s standards for design and construction to ensure conformance with current state and federal agency requirements. The update also includes changes regarding the fees paid for new developments and how drawings and plans are submitted to the city.

A RESOLUTION of support for a grant application for West Reserve Drive improvements is also on the agenda. The city is considering, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, to submit to the U.S. Department of Transportation Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant opportunity for upgrades to the street.

“West Reserve Drive has seen large increases in traffic and congestion over the years, as it is a major east and west route connecting U.S. 93 and U.S. 2,” Jarod Nygren, city Development Services Director notes in a memo to Council.

The grant is a separate grant from the recently submitted RAISE grant that would be used for the same project.

By submitting for the second grant it increases the city’s odds of being awarded the project as it would mean additional funding, Nygren notes. The grant application is for $25 million dollars with a match from MDT. The city would administer the grant.

A study completed by MDT recommends improvements to West Reserve Drive that include widening it from three to five lanes and adding landscape boulevards with a shared-use path on the north side of the road and a sidewalk on the south side.

COUNCIL WILL also consider two other separate planning requests.

John Todd is looking to rezone property at 128 and 130 Second Street East from RA-2 residential to B-4 central business district. The zone change anticipates using the properties for a planned business known as the Blue Duck, an indoor golf and hunting simulation.

The second is from Ryan Koistinen for annexation and initial zoning of residential apartment for property located at 1823 Fifth Avenue East.

As part of the proposal, a boundary line adjustment would take 0.256 acres of vacant land from a neighboring property at 1801 Fifth Avenue East, which is owned by Flathead Electric Cooperative, and add that acreage to 1823 Fifth Avenue East, which is owned by Koistinen. All of the expanded property at 1823 Fifth Avenue East would be annexed into the city with an RA-1 zoning designation.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 201 First Avenue East.

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.