Columbia Falls City Council moves ahead with Railroad Street affordable housing project

The Columbia Falls City Council last week formally voted to move forward with a housing project at the baseball field on Railroad Street.

The preliminary plan looks to build several townhomes (where the garages share a common wall) with the remainder being parkland to the west of the triangular-shaped lot. 

The vote was not unanimous. Councilors Jenny Lovering, Paula Robinson, Kelly King and Mike Shepard voted in favor of the project, while Mayor Don Barnhart opposed it.

Barnhart in the past has suggested two homes be built there and favored further development of the park. The rest of Council, however, favored the project because it will provide at least some affordable, single-family housing units in Columbia Falls.

Habitat for Humanity will build the homes. Under Habitat’s rules, the amount of equity is capped, so a homeowner can’t simply flip the home on the open market. Homeowners are also required to help build the homes, in what’s known as “sweat equity.”

The remaining parkland would be open to the public, City Manager Susan Nicosia noted.

The project still has a ways to go and will be subject to more public scrutiny, as the city will have to amend its growth policy, change the zoning and it will have to undergo a subdivision review.