Kalispell City Council on Monday will review its new land use plan, a document that will guide the city's growth for the next 20 years.  

Council meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 in City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.  

For the past year and a half, city staff — with the guidance of the Planning Commission and input from the public — have been crafting a new land use plan in accordance with a 2023 state law intended to streamline housing construction. 

Council adopted a growth policy back in 2017 that has been amended several times over the years. But the Montana Land Use Planning Act required 10 cities, including Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls, to draft a new guiding document that focuses on increasing housing supply through zoning and subdivision regulation reforms.   

The law requires the city to adopt five of 14 zoning regulations meant to free up development. The reforms include allowing higher-density housing near public transit; allowing apartments as a permitted use in office and commercial zones; and allowing a duplex wherever a single-family residence is allowed.  

While Council will only be reviewing the plan on Monday, the body must formally adopt it by May 2026.   

The commission held a public hearing on Jan. 13 before forwarding the plan to Council. Commission President Chad Graham cast the sole dissenting vote, bashing the law’s overhaul of public participation.  

By frontloading public input to drafting the plan, the law intends to ditch public hearings in front of Council on site-specific construction. Annexations and zoning changes will still be subjected to public hearings in front of elected officials, but subdivisions and conditional use permits will be approved by city staff. 

A district court judge in Gallatin County over the spring ruled that the provision was unconstitutional. Supporters of the provision said at the time that they were considering appealing the ruling. 

Also on the agenda, Dustin Leftridge is expected to be sworn into office on Monday night after Council last week unanimously appointed him to represent Ward 3. 

The Council seat was left vacant after Ryan Hunter’s ascension to mayor. The father and lawyer will serve out the rest of Hunter’s term, which ends in December 2027.  

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