08/23/01 DI/Mall Proposal Sails Through Planning Board•
proposal r__i
Some fear it will `tear out the core of the city'
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
The Daily Inter Lake
A proposed regional mall in Ever-
green won the support of the
Kalispell City -County Planning
Board on Tuesday, despite concerns
that the development would devas-
tate downtown businesses.
The board voted 7-1 to recommend
a zoning change requested by Wol-
ford Development.
- Wolford wants to build Glacier
Mall, a 750,000-square-foot enclosed
shopping center, on about 147 acres
located northeast of LaSalle Road and
East Reserve Drive.
In order for the project to proceed,
the Kalispell City -County Master
Plan must be amended to allow com-
mercial uses on the property, and the
zoning must be changed to B-2 com-
mercial.
The plan amendment was unani-
mously recommended by the plan-
ning board last week. It must still be
approved the the Flathead. County
Commissioners and the Kalispell
City Council.
al sales at the facility would exceed
$150 million per year.
Tom Fullerton, who lives in the
Granite View subdivision adjacent to
the proposed mall site, worried that a
project that size could "suck dry"
Kalispell's downtown core.
"The businesses on Main Street
mirror the businesses that would be
in the mall," he said, including book-
stores, clothing shops, restaurants
and shoe stores.
"Kalispell Center Mall would also
go way down" if a new mall were
built, Fullerton said. "We've invested
public tax increment dollars in that.
Are we just going to walk away and
leave it empty?
Less than 30 people showed up for
Tuesday's public hearing on the zon-
ing change. Ten people spoke, includ-
ing one elderly man who said he was
"for the mall 100 percent. It's an
awful long drive to Missoula or
Spokane to find good shops."
James "Bucky" Wolford, president
and CEO of Wolford Development,
said he envisioned a "total regional
mall that will strengthen the overall
retail operation" in Kalispell and the
Flathead Valley.
Glacier Mall would have four
major department store tenants, plus
75 or 80 specialty retail shops, a
movie theater and a food court. Wol-
ford previously estimated that annu-
"If this (proposal) is something
that's going to tear out the core of the
city, then I'm against it," he said.
However, planning board president
Greg Stevens said Glacier Mall was
consistent with the goals and objec-
tives outlined in the master plan.
"Nowhere does the plan say that
we're to keep Kalispell Center Mall
healthy by keeping other malls out of
here," Stevens said.
Furthermore, the Evergreen loca-
tion offers a number of advantages,
he said, particularly from a traffic
standpoint.
"There would be access from every
See MALL on Page A6
s1�3/o
Commission L-o consider mail plan today
major arterial in the Valley,"
Stevens said. "If we're trying
to maintain Kalispell's status
as the regional trade center, I
think this is probably the best
spot in our planning jurisdic-
tion" for a retail development.
Diane Conradi, executive
director of Citizens for a Better
Flathead, noted that Wolford's
application failed to include
even minimal traffic data.
"There's nothing in the file
that discusses the traffic
capacity or projected number
of trips," she said. "You should
have that information before
you can determine whether
the existing traffic infrastruc-
ture is adequate."
Similarly, the report lacked
information regarding the eco-
nomic impacts of the mall,
Conradi said, as well as its
effect on sewer and water
infrastructure.
"You need to take the time to
make sure this project is bene-
ficial to the people of
Kalispell," she said.
Other speakers also urged
the board to consider the
impacts before making a deci-
sion.
"Are we going to have to
come up with the money to
expand Kalispell's sewer
plant?" asked Fullerton. "Or if
(Wolford) builds an onsite
sewage treatment plant, are we
going to have that in our back
yards?"
"You ask people to testify.for
or against this proposal, so I'm
in a quandary," said Don Con-
nors, who lives along East
Reserve Drive.
"I think this is a good plan,"
he said. "I think Mr. Wolford
would most likely be a good
neighbor. He isn't asking that
much, not like other develop-
ers.
"But if he has to widen East
Reserve Drive (to accommo-
date traffic flows), it would
directly impact my property,"
Connors said. "I feel like there
are a lot of questions that need
to be resolved before you can
make an informed decision
whether this should go
through. I wish you would
take the time."
Jean Johnson, an engineer
with Paul Stokes & Associates
who's working on Wolford's
project, said numerous aspects
of the design would have to be
approved by state agencies,
including the stormwater and
traffic systems.
"We're already in prelimi-
nary discussions with the
Department of Transportation
about how best to handle traf-
fic flows," he said.
Johnson is also running for
mayor of Kalispell.
In order to give local offi-
cials greater control over the
end product, county planning
director Forrest Sanderson
recommended that Glacier
Mall be submitted as a planned
unit development — some-
thing Wolford readily agreed
to.
The planning board
approved the zone change
request with minimal discus-
sion.
. The county commissioners
will hold a public hearing on
the proposal today, beginning
at 11:30 a.m.