Public Hearing - Growth Policy Amendment - Highway 93 South/Siderius CommonsREPORT TO: Kalispell Mayor and City Council
FROM: Sean Conrad, Senior PIanner
Myrt Webb, Interim City Manager
SUBJECT Public Hearing for a Growth Policy Amendment for the Highway 93 South
Growth Policy Amendment/Siderius Commons project
MEETING DATE: November 17, 2008
BACKGROUND: The Highway 93 South Growth Policy Amendment is a section contained in
the Kalispell Growth Policy 2020. The Highway 93 South area is loosely defined as the lands
south of Cemetery Road, east of Airport Road, west of Demersville Road and north of Rocky
Cliff Drive with U.S. 93 bisecting the area north to south. The review and update of this
chapter in the growth policy is based on two factors. First, the planning department has
received a growth policy amendment request from the Siderius Family Limited Partnership to
amend the Kalispell Growth Policy Future Land Use map for a 207 acre site currently
designated for commercial, industrial, and suburban residential land uses. The project is
called Siderius Commons. The owners are requesting to amend the growth policy map so as to
eliminate the industrial and suburban residential designations, expand commercial uses along
the east half of the site and incorporate higher density residential uses on the west half of the
property. Secondly, the planning board directed planning staff to not only review the requested
amendment but to review and evaluate the amendment as it relates to the general Highway 93
South area.
The planning board held a public hearing on the growth policy amendment on September 9th
At the hearing two people spoke in favor of the proposed amendment. Two others spoke of
their concerns regarding increased housing density, increases in crime, the need for more
affordable housing and impacts to city infrastructure. After closing the public hearing the
planning board discussed the proposal and recommended unanimously that the council
consider the new issues, goals and policies within the Highway 93 South Growth Policy
Amendment area as presented by staff.
The council then held a work session on the proposed growth policy amendment at its October
20th meeting. During this work session a tentative schedule was provided to the council with
regards to adopting, revising or rejecting the proposed growth policy amendment. As part of
this schedule the council passed a resolution of intent to hold a public hearing on the growth
policy amendment prior to actually taking action at its November 3rd meeting. The public
hearing is based on previous growth policy amendment requests in which the council has held
a public hearing and then scheduled a vote on the growth policy amendment for the next
regular council meeting.
RECOMMENDATION: Hold a public hearing on the growth policy amendment and scheduling
a vote on the amendment for the December lst council meeting would be in order.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the city council.
Respectfully submitted,
Sean Conrad
Senior Planner
Report compiled: November 10, 2008
c: Theresa White, Kalispell City Clerk
My Webb
Interim City Manager
Siderius Family Limited Partnership, Josephine R. Siderius Living Trust, Jo Lynn Yenne,
Patricia A. Sanders, Raymond E. Siderius, and Linda L. Siderius, 6010 Highway 35,
Bigfork, MT 59911
Jerry Nix, 43 Sunrise Drive, Kalispell, MT 59901
Tia Robbin, P.O. Box 918, Kalispell, MT 59903