Kalispell City Hall kicks off land use plan education campaign with open house

City planners and poster boards were staked out at Bias Brewery in downtown Kalispell on Wednesday evening for the municipality’s first open house in its effort to draft a new land use plan.

The brewery was quiet, but the hope was that those coming to grab a beer would stop by to provide comments and learn about the plan, which is intended to guide growth in the city and spur more attainable housing.     

The move to draft a new land use plan comes from the passage of Senate Bill 382 in May 2023. Also known as the Montana Land Use Planning Act, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte as a means of streamlining housing construction.