Kalispell planning commission backs Vista Ridge Cottages annexation, PUD and preliminary plat for 96 homes

The Kalispell City Planning Commission voted unanimously Feb. 11 to recommend that the City Council annex 4892 2 Mile Drive and to approve the Vista Ridge Cottages planned-unit development (PUD) overlay and the project’s preliminary plat, clearing three key local review steps for the proposed 96-unit neighborhood.

The commission’s actions forward three staff reports—KA 24-10 (annexation), KPUD 24-05 (PUD) and KPP 24-06 (preliminary plat)—and a set of 35 staff conditions to the City Council for final action at its March 3 meeting.

Why it matters: The project would add 53 detached single-family homes and 43 attached townhome units on about 15.8 acres just west of the Landings Apartments near the 2 Mile Drive bypass. Staff said the proposal would develop at about 6.1 units per acre, inside the city’s annexation boundary, and includes multiple requested deviations from the RA-1 zone and subdivision rules that shape lot sizes, setbacks and access.

City planner PJ presented the proposal and told commissioners that “there are both water and sewer available and immediately adjacent to the property” and that the applicant has requested five zoning deviations and one subdivision deviation. Staff summarized the primary deviations as smaller minimum lot sizes (proposed 3,200 square feet for single-family lots and 1,200 square feet for townhouse…