Kalispell Planning Commission sends two mixed-use developments forward

The Kalispell Planning Commission on Tuesday adopted staff recommendations for two residential and commercial development projects.  

Both will go before Kalispell City Council in the coming weeks.  

Kilday and Stratton, a Bozeman-based development, construction and consulting firm, applied for approval of further development at Starling Community, a roughly 58-acre residential mixed-use development approved by Council in 2021. 

The development is west of Stillwater Road between Four Mile Drive and Old Reserve Drive, near Glacier High School and the Stillwater Crossing multi-family housing complex. 

The 8-acre plot of land that constitutes the fourth of eight phases in the firm’s development plan contains 31 lots, a park and vacant land.  

A traffic study determined the need for a roundabout at the intersection of Timberwolf and Stillwater Road to accommodate further development in the area. A condition outlined by planning officials also requires installing a crosswalk at the intersection to provide access to Glacier High School.  

Residents of Starling Community in attendance at the Aug. 13 meeting voiced frustrations with the loud construction work performed early in the morning and into the night.  

Rachel Kemak, one of the first to move into the community, said that for four months she didn’t have a street, address or mailbox, which she described as stressful.  

“Since then, we’ve had multiple contractors in our neighborhood, starting at 6:30 [a.m.] and ending after 10:30 [p.m.],” Kemak said. “Everyone on the street is really upset.”  

Residents also reported large amounts of trash and debris left behind by contractors. 

“Our neighborhood is filthy all the time, there is garbage all the time,” Kemak said. “I don’t feel like we’re being heard.” 

While she said she understands that construction is necessary, she hopes that it can be done with current residents in mind. 

After public comment ended, commission President Chad Graham allowed Greg Stratton, a founding partner of Kilday and Stratton, to respond to concerns.  

Stratton said that he has received complaints about afterhours construction work and has spoken with the contractors.  

“I think the 6:30 to 10:30 may be a little bit of a stretch,” Stratton said. “There might be isolated cases of that.”  

He also sought to assure attendees that employees walk the property multiple times a week and that contractors are monitored.   

“I walked [the site] today, and with maybe the exception of two to three piles, I thought it was exceptionally clean for the amount of activity out there,” he said.  

“We just ask that there is some understanding on the residents’ part,” he said. “That the sooner we get done with construction in your area, the sooner we can all move on, and you won’t be bothered anymore.”  

Stratton said that there is an option to fine the contractor written within the company’s agreement but said he was hesitant to do so.  

Taylor Keazirian-Poe, another resident in the Starling Community sharing the same sentiments as Kemak, said that her attempts to reach out to the community’s homeowners association were met with leniency toward the contractor’s construction schedule.   

“I think it’s just proper decency to consider what is the balance between the people who live there currently,” Keazirian-Poe said. “Who do we talk to? What do we do?”     

Kalispell Senior Planner PJ Sorenson said that the city cannot regulate construction schedules but suggested residents file complaints with the Kalispell Police Department for disturbing the peace. He noted that the ordinance is broad and has no specified hours or noise levels that can be violated.  

“It’s a little bit of a fuzzy standing with that,” said Sorensen.  

“[Disturbance] would have to be pretty apparent for the city to do something,” Development Services Director Jarod Nygren said.  

“It is an active construction zone,” he added. "It is what it is, there’s going to be those issues." 

Nygren suggested that communicating with the homeowners association may prove more effective.  

Graham said he understood the residents' concerns. As a builder himself, he said he communicates with neighbors to ask whether he is being a nuisance. 

Graham deemed the dustup as likely stemming from a lack of communication.  

ANOTHER PROJECT endorsed by the commission was for the development of a 95-acre plot of land for residential, industrial and commercial uses south of Kalispell. Two portions of land, at a combined roughly 38 acres, require annexation into the city. 

The land, primarily zoned for urban-mixed use, is situated off U.S. 93 and south of Lower Valley Road.  

Todd Gardner and Colton Behr worked in tandem on the project proposal, combining a planned unit development that would house both a shipping and distribution center and a single-family home residential area of 170 units on around 31 acres.  

A commercial area is also in the plan, which would involve relocating a storm pond to a nearby wetland area.  

City planning staff concluded that the development aligns with the city’s growth policy.  

Jack Underhill can be reached at junderhill@dailyinterlake.com and 758-4407.