Residents urged to get involved in future of Columbia Falls' doughnut

A group of like-minded residents are urging residents of the former Columbia Falls “doughnut” to get involved in meetings that could decide future zoning designations for the areas.

The county Planning Board has already had a couple of meetings with interested residents, but another workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 8 at the South Campus Conference Room in Kalispell.

Previous meetings went well, said Shirley Folkwein, real estate broker Barb Riley and Gary Hall, a former Columbia Falls mayor and county commissioner.

The city used to have an area around its borders, usually a mile or two, where it was given planning jurisdiction by the county. It extended east of the Flathead River and west to the Blue Moon intersection.

But the Montana Land Use Planning Act dissolved the doughnut and now it’s under county jurisdiction. The county adopted zoning in the interim that was close to the city’s.

But that could change based on public input.

As a real estate agent with decades of experience, Riley said her involvement centered on zoning and the future of land use outside the city.

For example, she noted that some areas the zoning is inconsistent with what actually happened on the ground.

To that point, there are 14 different zoning designations in the old doughnut.

One example is immediately east of the river, which has a zoning designation for high density housing, while all the adjacent land is either farmland or single-family residential.

Folkwein said she’d like to see the 49-acre parcel south of U.S. 2 just east of the river preserved as open space and possibly a park, but Hall noted the county isn’t interested in more parks, even if they’re donated.

Parks aside, the current zoning seems out of character with the area.

Now is the time to speak up, one way or another, Hall said.

“I just want everyone who lives in the doughnut to have a say,” Hall said.

The city still does have a say to a degree. If a developer comes in with a project and requests city services, the city can annex the property.

The city at least seemed open to extending sewer lines under the river with past developments, but Council ultimately balked at the density, safety and traffic issues that would have come with apartment and townhome complexes that were proposed a few years ago.

Folkwein noted that home and property owners can do their own research and listen to past meetings at the county Planning Board website at: https://flathead.mt.gov/department-directory/planning-zoning.