Kalispell to consider rewriting unsafe-structures enforcement to civil abatement; council to place code change on next agenda

City staff and the city attorney presented proposed municipal-code changes at the City of Kalispell work session on Jan. 13 to give the city more civil enforcement tools for unsafe and nuisance properties.

City Attorney (on record) explained the change would make abatement orders civil rather than criminal and allow courts to authorize abatement. "If you look at 11-2, for first violation a civil penalty of not more than $300 shall be imposed. For each repeat violation a civil penalty not to exceed $500 shall be imposed," the attorney said during the discussion. Staff recommended adding a 10-day abatement window in ordinance language and said moving to civil enforcement creates alternative relief (abatement) the city can pursue through a judicial order.

The proposal grows from multiple neighborhood complaints about derelict properties, and staff emphasized that any enforcement program will be complaint-driven and requires follow-up resources. City Manager Chad Russell and other staff said the fire code pathway solves some of the enforcement limitations but does not eliminate the workload. "All I'm saying is we don't have the resources to make this a full fledged program," Russell told council.

Council discussed prior practice (the city previously replaced sidewalk or street-side service lines when found during capital projects), and several councilors said they support moving the code change forward. Council also asked staff to gather comparative information from peer cities on code-enforcement staffing levels and to include a broader discussion of a dedicated code-enforcement position in budget workshops. The council directed staff to place a draft ordinance or resolution containing the civil-abatement approach on the next council agenda for formal consideration.

Public comment at the end of the meeting included resident Cassidy Kipp, who urged the council to take stronger action on an ongoing problem property known as the "Outlaw." "I feel like we've been batted around and I feel like Kalispell Fire Department and KPD have been really good and responsive with it, but I just don't know where to take my concerns," Kipp said. In response staff noted that recent state law changes (discussed by staff as part of bill package numbered "382") altered zoning and conditional-use-permit implications for multifamily development in business districts; staff said revoking a conditional-use permit would not necessarily prevent certain uses where state law already authorizes them.

The council agreed to move the proposed code-change item onto next Monday's agenda and to revisit the resource question during budget planning.