Kalispell Council to weigh Mayor Ryan Hunter’s housing priorities

Kalispell City Council on Monday will discuss several housing-related proposals raised by Mayor Ryan Hunter during his successful election campaign last year.  

The body is expected to mull over forming an affordable housing and homeless advisory committee, establishing design standards along the Parkline Trail and using city-owned property for affordable housing development.  

Council meets at 7 p.m., June 8 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E. 

Flathead Warming Center Director Tonya Horn proposed the idea of forming an advisory board to address homelessness after the murder of a homeless man in Kalispell in June 2023. But the idea struggled to gain traction in the intervening years.  

Before becoming mayor, Hunter pledged to further explore the idea, saying the committee would develop an affordable housing plan based on approaches used in other cities.  

While on the campaign trail, Hunter said development along the Parkline Trail should be limited to high-density residential and retail uses, not parking lots. Councilors are expected to discuss adding development standards for properties along the paved path that cuts east-west through the city.  

Hunter also backed the idea of donating vacant, surplus city-owned lots for residential development by nonprofits, which could add affordable housing to the city.  

The move would eliminate the cost of land for nonprofits to build housing and make projects likelier to receive state tax credits, he told the Inter Lake in October.  

A REPORT that will be presented to Council on Monday indicates that short-term rentals make up less than 1% of the city’s residential housing stock. 

Kalispell currently allows up to 2% of homes in residential and residential apartment zones to be used as short term rentals, but during his campaign, Hunter said he wants to lower that cap.  

There are currently 115 active short-term rentals in the city, 86 of which are in residential and residential apartment zones. The rest are in commercial zones, where hotels and other short-term stays are expected, according to a memo from Development Services Director PJ Sorensen.  

Ward 3, which includes much of downtown, has the largest number of short-term rentals with 56. Ward 4, covering South Kalispell, has 28, while wards 1 and 2 that make up North Kalispell have 31 combined, according to a map prepared by city staff.  

Council adopted an ordinance allowing short term rentals in 2016. The rentals must be permitted, reviewed by the Flathead City-County Health Department, registered for the state bed tax, receive a life safety inspection from the Kalispell Building Department and provide contact information to properties within 150 feet, Sorensen wrote in the memo to Council.  

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.