Council roundup: Columbia Falls looks to change parking on some streets; market music raises neighbor's hackles

Columbia Falls is looking at changing the parking on several city streets soon. The problem is street parking either makes it difficult to remove snow in the winter, or nearly impossible to get a fire truck down the street in the event of an emergency. As such the city will likely change the parking on the following city streets:

• On Franlou Park Lane, on street parking would be allowed only on the north side of the street.

• On Diane Road, parking would only be allowed on the south side of the street.

• On Wildcat Drive, there would be no on-street parking during the winter months.

• On 14th and 16th Avenue West, between 4th and 5th Avenue, there would be no on-street parking allowed.

A public hearing is scheduled for the council’s next board meeting at 7 p.m. June 20. Residents can also contact city hall directly at 130 6th St. West, Columbia Falls, MT 59912.

In other council news from Monday night’s meeting:

• Landowner William T. Giddeon is asking for a zone change on Columbia Falls Stage Road from SAG-10 agricultural to residential for a subdivision. The 18-acre parcel has about one-acre in the city’s zoning and planning area. The city-county planning board will hold a public hearing on the zone change at 6:30 p.m. June 14 at city hall. The parcel is already adjacent to other residential properties in the area.

• Heard from resident Barb Proctor, who complained about parking and noise from the Community Market in Columbia Falls. She said the music was so loud she had to close her windows to listen to her television and the noise was going longer into the night than it should be. She also said parking was a problem as a people were parking in front of her neighbor’s home and he was a disabled veteran. Proctor claimed that if it was a commercial venture, then people should be parking on commercial lots, not on residential streets. The city said they would look into the matter.

“Obviously there’s some issues,” said Mayor Don Barnhart. “We can’t let it get out of hand.”