01/14/02 Leistiko Opinion PaperI I I -1-W
OPINION PAPER
COT JECT 141-11 F 14, LEIST
January 14, 2002
First of all, I want to make it abundantly clear to members of this
Council, the City Staff, and everyone present in this chambers, that I am not
opposed to the Wolford Mall Project proposed for the greater Kalispell area.
We do not, and can not live 'in a vacuum here *in the City of Kalispell. What
we do on this and any other project that *involves future development will, and
does affect more than this city alone. We all live in this valley together, and
we, as civic leaders should make a concerted effort to do what is right, to be
the stewards of the land, and to guard ram• uncontrolled development. We
need to get every thing we can think of out in the open and on the table for
review. Only then, can we make an infonned decision as to whether this
project is viable for Kalispell and the valley. And this decision should be
made only after Wolford Development has made formal application for
annexation into the City of Kalispell. We can't decide or act tonight at a
workshop. But we do need to give guidance to the Staff and City Manager so
thepr can move forward in pre�taration for a formal decision at a later date if it
is to come to that.
I am go mig to disregard the recommendations of the City Manager and
Staff as they appear on Page 5 of the Memo. I believe that those statements
are inappropriate for a Council Workshop. They are the ultinate voting
decisions which this Council will have to make in a formal application
process and by resolution whenever that comes to the table. I would like to
go back to the paragraph right above the recommendation on page 5. VA-iat
additional information does the City Council need 'in order to make a
decision?? Or to put it another way, what questions do we have for the Staff
and legal counsel necessary to prepare us to make a decision that will come
before us at a later f•'
Having made that statement, I find myself *in somewhat of a quandary?
I don't want to force this project, like some others approved by the County,
out into the County out of reach of a sewer treatment facility. But, at the
saine time, we can not allow developments like this to drive us into a situation
that is not compatible with our vision of what Kalispell will look like 20 years
down the road. And one that is not compatible with our Growth Policy Plan.
That brings me to my first question. This Council took, what was
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the easements along the road. Where do we stand on this matter??
Will all the land that Wolford Development has under option be
annexed into the City? Will we annex the housing development (Farris) on
the east side of the proposed Mall so that he can receive city services along
with the Wolford Development??
I will not address the retail competition problem with downtown
Kalispell because I do not believe in protectionism and if we complete our
Streetscape project as promised, we will have done the best we can for
downtown Kalispell at this time.
How soon can we expect to have public hearings on this matter so we
can hear from the public??