Proposed 99 Unit Complex Public Comment from Mark Topp Aimee Brunckhorst
From: Ryan Hunter
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 4:35 PM
To: Kalispell City Council
Subject: Fw: EXTERNAL 9/2 Council Meeting - Proposed 99 Unit Complex
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
Mayor and Council,
I received the below public comment today regarding the South Meadows project.
Ryan Hunter
Kalispell City Council Ward 3
rhunter@kalispell.com
KALISPELL
From: Mark Topp <markdtopp@me.com>
Sent:Wednesday, August 27, 2025 4:30 PM
To: Ryan Hunter<rhunter@kalispell.com>
Subject: EXTERNAL 9/2 Council Meeting- Proposed 99 Unit Complex
Hi Ryan,
My name is Mark Topp. I have lived in the South Meadows neighborhood area for around 23
years. I know I am not in your ward, but I believe it's important that you are made aware of more
information on the 99 unit apartment complex that is being proposed just north of Bluestone Drive
and South Meadows.
The city planning board meeting on 7/8 ended up with what would end up being an unofficial vote
against recommendation of this project (2:41:30-
2:47ish) CC..... o�ut�ule.comCwatcll� v IIcIHllC3c( �u10. It went from that, to being steered to
tabling by other staff and board members, due to the lack of the developer being in attendance at
the meeting. I believe this was an intentional, orchestrated tactic.
There are many issues and concerns with this project. Many of those issues were went over in
depth by community residents during the public comment portion of the meeting. There are safety
concerns, specifically with the increase in traffic on Bluestone Drive, which does not have
sidewalks. Bluestone Drive is the main corridor from that side of the neighborhood to/from the dog
park/playground/baseball fields, and to/from the bus stop. Neighborhood children also ride their
bikes all around, including on Bluestone.
There are also environmental concerns with where this project is being proposed. The area is
directly adjacent to Ashley Creek, and has been notoriously marshy in the past, with some of it, I
believe being considered a wetland. In fact, most of the neighborhood has had water issues in the
past, and many have sump pumps to combat flooding. The developers are planning slab on grade
for the project, so they do not seem to care at all about the water issue. There is also an abundant
amount of wildlife in and around the subject property.
Those of us in this community who are engaged in this project understand that we aren't going to
prevent future development of this property, but having an extremely high density complex
slammed directly into a 30+ year established single family home neighborhood, with some
townhouses sprinkled into it is a bit too much. The proposal is at an absolute max capacity for the
single ingress/egress that there is. The anticipated traffic count increase on Bluestone Drive is a
massive increase, a road which already sees a lot of speeding traffic.
I know it's short notice, but I would love it if you had time to chat, or stop by to take a look at where
this is being proposed. With this falling right after Labor Day Weekend, I don't expect that you'll
have much time to look into this, but if all possible, please scrub through the meetings to hear the
many concerns from the residents that this will directly affect.
Thank you for your time,
Mark Topp
406-253-9247
2