Loading...
NarrativeStarling Narrative Introduction As a planned extension of the City of Kalispell, Starling is comprised of approximately 640-acres of land strategically located to provide future residents of Kalispell new beginnings. Stillwater Road (east), Reserve Drive (north), Four Mile Drive (south) and Spring Creek Road (west) define the boundary of the site and provide primary access and connectivity to the greater Kalispell community. Starling will provide opportunities to meet the market demand for a variety of housing types, open space amenities, parks and civic / support commercial uses. Build -out of Starling is anticipated to occur at a steady rate over a period of up to 20 years or more, depending on market demand. The Starling Community Plan provides a great deal of flexibility to adjust to varying residential and non-residential uses, and their related size requirements, as each phase of the community is designed and platted in more detail. Starling is being designed to permit a wide variety of neighborhood commercial and other non-residential uses. Residential neighborhoods within Starling have been defined with anticipation of a higher degree of detail to be applied as each phase is constructed. As the project planning develops, specific housing will be designed to meet the need of a growing Kalispell. Approximately 2,500 — 3,000 homes are anticipated for construction in Starling. Community Framework Starling is planned to achieve both short-term and long-term community identity and maintain that identity as a logical extension of Kalispell. A key goal is to create a sense of community in the first phase and continue to expand and enhance that sense of community. It is critical to establish this community framework at the start of the project. Starling achieves this goal by strategically locating collector entry boulevards, a large central park, four neighborhood parks, internal connector streets and blocks of community land uses. By using these community building blocks that are defined early in the planning process, Starling can be constructed in a way that feels complete and vibrant as each phase of new residents call Starling "home". Land Use Summary Land Use Acres Residential* 420.2 Mixed Use** 40.0 Open Space 147.0 Elementary School 15.0 Arterial Roadway 19.3 Total 641.5 Notes: * Includes: Low, Medium, and High Density Residential ** Includes: Commercial, Civic, Community Center, High Density Residential, and Others Transportation Regional transportation routes are being planned by the City and State on an on -going basis. The Kalispell bypass is planned approximately'/2 mile east of the Starling site. These planned regional improvements will enhance access to Starling, and provide an alternative north -south corridor for traffic patterns in Kalispell and the Flathead Valley. Based on an anticipated hierarchy of traffic volume, access to Starling is planned from Reserve Drive and Stillwater Road in the earlier phases of construction. Four Mile Drive will also provide access to the Starling in future phases, with Spring Creek Road providing a secondary level of access based on a lesser proximity to Kalispell proper. In accordance with City of Kalispell procedure and customary land development standards, the developer proposes to fund and construct the half road section immediately adjacent to the property. This adjacent half of the road section will be newly constructed with the development of the property to meet the requirements of the designated City Street Section. The developer will also construct a portion of the opposite half road section if necessary to meet the immediate anticipated traffic load. Temporary or interim striping may be used to meet the immediate anticipated traffic needs. The remainder of the opposite half of the road section will be constructed by the adjacent property owner at the time those properties are developed. City Staff did mention that an SID may be an option depending on ROW issues and the status of the property on the opposite side of the road. The improvements will be phased as the development progresses. The phasing of these arterial roadways will be according to the phasing plan but also be tied to need for the road according the anticipated traffic levels generated by the subdivision. Phasing will be based on numbers of units and/or frontage used. In no case will the road be constructed with undeveloped sections remaining between developed sections. The developer will work with City Staff on the phasing of the road improvements as the project moves forward to construct them in an orderly and logical sequence. The developer, in cooperation with the City of Kalispell, will attempt to obtain Rights -of -Way for the surrounding roadways as the project develops and the roads in question are constructed. The developer does not anticipate purchasing rights -of -way from third party property owners. If attempts to acquire rights -of -way from adjoining property owners are unsuccessful the City and developer will work together to provide temporary facilities by providing temporary or interim road striping or geometry within the normally anticipated half street right-of-way until such time as the additional rights -of -way can be obtained. The objective will be to maintain the progress of this development if we can not secure the cooperation of adjoining property owners without burdening this development with additional right-of-way dedication As currently planned, a single primary collector road located off of each of the perimeter arterial roads provides ideal access and a sense of entry into Starling. One or two additional street connections to each of the perimeter arterial roads provides adequate secondary access points to facilitate the ideal flow of traffic and wide-ranging opportunities for convenient access to the greater Kalispell region. Internally, the four primary entry collector streets converge towards the center of Starling, creating the edges of a central park. These primary collector streets also form four distinct neighborhoods within Starling — allowing for strategically completed constructed phases. Sewer and Water Minor offsite improvements are anticipated to upgrade the sewer system to serve this development. In accordance with City of Kalispell procedure and customary land development standards, these will either be funded by the developer and repaid later through hook up fees, or funded up front by the City if the funds are available. These improvements will be phased into the project as they are needed. All onsite improvements will be funded by the developer. The cost of facilities that are upsized to serve surrounding areas will be reimbursed through a late comer's agreement or other City funding mechanism, if available. The Water system is adequate to serve the area. The developer will consider a site for a future City water supply well. Water and sewer treatment facilities are adequate to serve the development. It is important that a schedule of all offsite and onsite improvements is provided with the Planned Unit Development submittal. The schedule will consider need by phase as well as the need for the improvements based on the density of the subdivision as it develops Parks I Open Space I Trails One of the first steps in the planning process for Starling was identification of existing site features and natural amenities provided by the land. These include topographic variations, drainages, views and high points. Each of these features has been carefully considered and incorporated into the plan for Starling, including: the primary drainageway located in the southwest portion of the site that has been preserved as a greenway in the community and the neighborhood park located in the southeast portion of the site that resides atop a noticeable high point. Each of the boulevards radiate from the central park on axes with the primary mountain peak views of the Valley. The central park provides the terminus for each of the four primary entry collector boulevards and is planned to host active recreational opportunities. The natural park located in the central west portion of the site is planned to offer more passive recreational amenities to residents of Kalispell. Three neighborhood parks are located within easy walking distance of residents living in each of the northwest, northeast and southeast quadrants of Starling. Residents living in the southwest quadrant of Starling have very accessible parks and recreation opportunities with easy walking distance at either the greenway corridor or the natural park. Each of these neighborhood parks will be themed to provide the appropriate amenities based on the demographics and interests of each neighborhood. These parks will offer amenities such as, tot lots, picnic shelters, gazebos, gardens and other improvements. All residents have easy walking access to the central park via trails located along each of the primary boulevards or via sidewalks located along the local streets that intersect each of the four sides of the central park. An interconnected system of pedestrian trails is planned along the greenway corridor, the utility power line corridor and the extra wide community buffers located along the edges of Starling. Each of the local streets is also planned to immulate the east north neighborhoods of old Kalispell, providing detached sidewalks with tree lawns. Summary Starling provides a unique opportunity for Kalispell as Montana's largest master planned community. Starling will provide opportunities to a variety of future Kalispell residents to achieve a lifestyle indicative of the Flathead Valley. Starling will become "home" to many existing and future residents as Kalispell continues writing its rich history.