Mayor’s vote seals Kalispell Land Use Plan despite conflict-of-interest warning

Mayor Ryan Hunter cast the tie-breaking vote to adopt Kalispell’s new land use plan Monday night despite the city attorney’s warning that his participation could pose a conflict of interest.  

Kalispell was tasked with crafting a new land use plan in accordance with the Montana Land Use Planning Act, a 2023 state law aimed at streamlining housing construction through overhauling the public comment process on site-specific developments and instituting zoning and subdivision regulation reforms.  

The contentious 5-4 vote followed Hunter’s decision to participate despite concerns from residents, fellow councilors and the city attorney that he may have created a conflict of interest by supporting a request from his employer, the Flathead Land Trust, to remove an area west of town from the city’s future growth area because of migrating sandhill cranes.  

Councilor Jed Fisher accused Hunter of helping draft the letter, an allegation Hunter repeatedly denied. 

After city officials recommended against changing the boundary in January, Hunter sought guidance from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The agency later sent a letter to Council recommending the land be designated as an “area of concern,” citing its importance as a stopover for tens of thousands of migratory waterfowl.  

The vote that ultimately passed on Monday added language to the land use plan identifying the area stretching from West Reserve Drive to Church Drive as important crane habitat and included a state-prepared map showing the designated area of concern.  

Before the vote, City Attorney Johnna Preble warned Hunter that his involvement could pose a problem.  

“It’s my opinion that at the least, there appears to be an appearance of impropriety under most state code and the city code. And at worst there’s a potential conflict of interest and a potential violation of city policy,” Preble said. 

Hunter defended his decision to vote, saying he had consistently disclosed his employment with the nonprofit and that neither he nor the organization would receive any financial benefit from designating the area as environmentally sensitive.  

“I am a salaried employee of the Flathead Land Trust, and any decisions related to the land use plan have no impact on my income and provides no economic benefit to myself or the Flathead Land Trust,” Hunter said. 

He compared his situation to a vote cast by Councilor Sam Nunnally to revoke the Flathead Warming Center’s permit. The city attorney gave Nunnally the green light to vote despite his employment with the county as manager of the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Concerns were raised at the time because county commissioners had drafted a letter condemning homeless activity in the valley and urging the public not to support warming centers.  

“I will not accept the double standard where Mr. Nunnally was allowed to participate in a very important vote, whereas I am expected to recuse from what is effectively the same or a very similar scenario,” Hunter said.  

Nunnally voted against the changes and questioned how quickly the recommendation from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was produced. He said that growing up in the valley, he watched biologists spend years studying species such as elk, deer and moose.  

“It takes a long time to do the studies that it takes to get to this point,” Nunnally.  

Councilors Kari Gabriel and Fisher also voted against the changes, arguing that the newly included map placed an unnecessary label on private property outside city limits.   

“I can’t help but think that we are totally disenfranchising the landowner,” Fisher said.  

Councilor Sid Daoud criticized the state Legislature for imposing policies on local governments and also took issue with Council’s last-minute changes to the plan.  

“I don’t like the plan to begin with. I think it’s central planning and socialism,” Daoud said. “We had 15-plus hours of work sessions, we all agreed to a plan and now we are trying to change it at the vote. Government at its worst.” 

Councilors Kyle Waterman, Lisa Blank, Wes Walker and Dustin Leftridge all voted to include the revisions. Supporters argued that the map identifying the area of concern is no different than maps already in the land use plan that identify moose, elk and bear habitat.  

“The information is there as a way to help people make decisions. It does not by itself make a decision. Therefore I am arguing that it is helpful to have the most up to date information in our plan,” Blank said.  

The document will now guide city planners as they review future development proposals. Under the state law, public input was required during the creation of the plan, while individual projects will eventually no longer receive public hearings. 

COUNCIL ALSO approved a request from homeowners on Fourth Avenue West between Fifth and Sixth streets west to require curbside parking permits on their street.  

The Westside Parking Management zone was established in 2015 to regulate curbside parking around Flathead High School. Demand for curbside parking far exceeded the available space which resulted in limited open spots and congested streets.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 406-758-4407 or junderhill@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.