New plan proposed for Kalispell development
The Kalispell Planning Board will hold a public hearing tonight to consider revised plans for the first three phases of Eagle Valley Ranch, a proposed mixed-use development north of Kalispell.
Amending its original plan, Spartan Holdings LLC aims to build out about two thirds of the originally proposed 99-acre development. Plans for the 64 acres north of Kalispell include 114 single-family residential lots and 18 mixed-use lots, expected to be a combination of multifamily units and commercial properties such as medical offices.
“They’re not proposing to do anything at this time with the north end of the development,” Jarod Nygren, senior planner with the city of Kalispell, said.
Eagle Valley Ranch is located along the U.S. 93 corridor, south of the Ponderosa Estates residential subdivision and east of the Northern Pines Golf Course. In August 2018 the Kalispell Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the City Council amend Kalispell’s growth policy to allow the mixed-use portion of Eagle Valley Ranch.
The original planned-unit development was for 225 single-family residential lots on the 99-acre parcel.
“It’s less dense than what was originally approved,” Nygren said. “Rather than doing townhomes, they’re just doing detached single-family homes. The density is about cut in half from the original.”
Nygren expects that the single-family houses will be in the 1,200- to 1,300-square-foot range.
“Probably targeted to retirement age, if I had to guess,” he said.
An assisted-living center was part of the original proposal, but Nygren said that it will have to be put through the public-hearing process again if the developer decides to move forward on that idea.
Nygren said Eagle Valley Ranch is in keeping with the general vision for the city’s growth.
“This is not as dense as a lot of cities, but it’s more than what people are typically used to around here,” he said. “It’s what we are trying to do so we don’t have to keep growing out.”
The Eagle Valley Ranch site is in an area generally characterized as agricultural mixed with single-family development to the north and the planned Kalispell North Town Center commercial and residential development to the south.
Infrastructure has been installed for a traffic light at the intersection of Rose Crossing and U.S. 93, but other than a new light, no changes to the major road networks are expected. Water and sewer will be extended to the subdivision, paid for by the developer. The project is within the boundaries of the Kalispell School District and Edgerton Elementary.
The Planning Board meets at 6 p.m. in council chambers at Kalispell City Hall. Public comments will be taken on the subdivision, the only major item on the meeting agenda.
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4438 or hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com