Kalispell council approves Reserve at Johnson Ranch annexation, zoning, PUD and preliminary plat with crossing-safety condition

Kalispell Mayor Bill Johnson and the City Council on Aug. 4 approved a growth-policy map amendment, annexation, initial zoning, a planned unit development (PUD) overlay and a preliminary plat for the Reserve at Johnson Ranch, a roughly 91.8-acre project the city says could include up to 493 dwelling units and a 10-acre neighborhood commercial node including a proposed 40,000-square-foot grocery store. The council approved the growth-policy resolution (No. 62-68), an annexation resolution (No. 62-69), the zoning ordinance (Ordinance No. 19-40, creating the Reserve at Johnson Ranch PUD overlay) and the preliminary plat (Resolution No. 62-70); each measure passed by roll call votes. During final motions the council added a condition requiring a rectangular rapid-flashing beacon (RRFB) or similar quickly visible flashing crossing device at the pedestrian crossing to the park north of Stillwater Road.

Why it matters: The project would realign Kalispell’s growth-policy land use map in an area northwest of Glacier High School and place higher-density residential and neighborhood commercial uses adjacent to existing infrastructure, potentially adding hundreds of housing units and a grocery store-sized retail anchor near multiple established neighborhoods.

Staff described the application as a comprehensive package from Spartan Holdings and Whispering Trails LLC that includes annexation of about 91.8 acres, a growth-policy amendment to create a 10-acre neighborhood business node and reallocate high-density and urban-residential designations, initial zoning of R-3 (single-family), RA-1 (residential apartment) and B-1 (neighborhood business) with a PUD overlay, and a preliminary plat showing 186 single-family lots and two multifamily lots (one with 237 units and one with up to 70 units), producing a maximum of 493 dwelling units and one commercial lot. PJ Sorensen, assistant director of development services, told council the applicant proposes a 110,000-square-foot total building footprint for the B-1 area, with the primary component a roughly 40,000-square-foot grocery store.

Council and staff noted…