Kalispell Planning Board approves Stillwater Crossing amendment

The Kalispell Planning Board and Zoning Commission on June 13 recommended approval of an amended layout to the Stillwater Crossing Residential planned unit development that adds more apartments in lieu of previously proposed single-family homes.

The new layout, which still requires approval by the Kalispell City Council, will now feature 120 apartment units and 24 townhomes. The original proposal, approved in 2020, called for 83 single-family lots.

Developer Jason Evans changed gears on the project because of Kalispell’s growing need for apartments. In an email, he noted that “market conditions don’t seem as favorable for single-family right now.”

The new layout would increase the unit density on the site from 9.5 units per acre to 11.6 units after the amendment, according to PJ Sorensen, senior planner with the city.

The board attached a condition requiring a 20-foot minimum width on private alleys accessing the townhomes, as was recommended by the Kalispell Fire Department.

THE BOARD also discussed a request from Stillwater Corporation for major subdivision approval of the fourth phase of its Kalispell North Town Center project. A similar request was approved in 2020, but the developer wants to shift a common area and utility easement as part of engineering design, Sorensen said.

The request is for a roughly 12-acre plot within the 485-acre project, and would include 10 commercial lots, a common area and a new city street.

Although board members deemed the request as straightforward, they were unable to issue a recommendation to the Council, as acting Chair Rory Young had to recuse himself to avoid a professional conflict of interest.

The already depleted board then dropped below the minimum quorum required to officially vote on the agenda item. The item will still go before Council as usual, according to Sorensen.

The Planning Board meets again July 11.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.