Kalispell Mayor Ryan Hunter pitched a slew of housing initiatives and land use reforms at a sold-out luncheon hosted by the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.  

The newly seated mayor detailed his priorities for his four-year term, which included government transparency, revitalizing downtown, protecting wildlife habitat and maintaining fiscal responsibility. City Manager Jarod Nygren also discussed future policy under consideration by Kalispell City Council and addressed concerns over increased property taxes on commercial properties. 

In the coming weeks, Hunter intends to draft an affordable housing plan led by a citizen advisory committee that draws on practices used by similar sized communities.  

“Lack of affordable housing is making it difficult to hire and retain a workforce, contributing to quality-of-life issues such as rising homelessness impacting businesses,” Hunter said.  

After fielding concerns from local developers over unclear building standards, Hunter plans to consider revising landscaping requirements tacked on after a development is approved “to enhance predictability and bring down costs for new development.” 

Over the past year and half, city staff with guidance from the Planning Commission have been crafting a new land use plan in accordance with a state law passed in 2023 intended to streamline housing construction. Hunter expressed his support for the zoning reforms required under the law promoting mixed use development.  

But the city also needs more construction of condominiums that cater to first-time prospective homebuyers, because “single-family is not going to be really affordable in the future,” Nygren said.  

Hunter said he would consider moving away from traditional zoning practices to form-based zoning, which prioritizes the physical form, scale and character of buildings over specific use. The alternative is meant to spur mixed-use development.  

HUNTER EXPRESSED his continued support for installing traffic safety measures downtown.   

“I am unapologetically supportive of the Main Street Safety Action Plan. I know there is a lot of concern around that. I hope, as we move forward, we can build more community support for the details of that plan,” Hunter said.  

Council in June decided against pursuing a $25 million grant to fund the plan amid public opposition, particularly over shaving Main Street by two lanes.   

“You cannot have a vibrant downtown unless it’s a place people want to be, and people are not going to want to be there with the loud traffic that currently exists that is a major barrier to success of our downtown, and we have to address it,” Hunter said. 

The mayor also aims to impose design standards along the Parkline Trail that ban parking lots fronting the trail and promote multi-story development while using tax increment financing dollars to upgrade the existing infrastructure. 

Committing to an open-door policy, Hunter said he would hold informal town hall meetings every fifth Monday of the month, when Council does not hold meetings. There are four Mondays when Council will not convene this year. 

NYGREN ADDRESSED business owners’ concerns about rising property taxes attributed to state legislation signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte that shifts more of the tax burden onto high-value homes and large businesses.  

“At the macro level it maybe made sense, but at the city of Kalispell level, the micro level, it really does not,” Nygren said.  

Because Kalispell lacks multimillion-dollar homes, commercial properties took the brunt of the tax shift while almost all of Kalispell’s residential community saw lower taxes, according to Nygren.  

“Just so commercial business owners know it’s not something that the city of Kalispell initiated whatsoever,” he said.  

Responding to critics’ claims that he is turning Kalispell into Portland, Oregon, Hunter emphasized that he holds the same voting power as the eight councilors.   

“I need a majority vote on Council to get anything done,” he said.  

Nygren encouraged public feedback on decisions being made at City Hall.  

“Oftentimes the room is empty, but we certainly extend the olive branch out to the community to make sure you’re involved, because there is a long list of policy decisions that are going to be made here over the next couple months,” Nygren said. 

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].