Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Process topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kalispell staff and consultants launch public engagement for land-use plan update under SB 382; outreach schedule and website provided
Summary
City staff and Logan Simpson consultants presented an outreach plan for Kalispell’s land-use plan update (referenced in the meeting as the MALUPA / Senate Bill 382 process), including pop-up events, online questionnaires, an interactive map, and a project website engagekalispell.com; commissioners emphasized front-loaded public engagement.
City planning staff and consultants from Logan Simpson outlined the public-engagement approach and next steps for Kalispell’s land-use plan update (referred to in the meeting in conjunction with Senate Bill 382), emphasizing front-loaded outreach and multiple opportunities for public input.
Logan Simpson project manager Melissa Ruth and colleague Ben Osterling described three core consultant roles: public engagement, graphics/support for staff, and plan-adoption support. Staff said the city used a state MCR grant to help fund outside assistance; at the meeting staff stated the grant amount as $30,000. The consultants described an engagement program that includes a currently active questionnaire, a tag-the-map interactive web map, community interviews, pop-up/drop-in events, open houses, and a future online review platform for a draft plan.
Staff and consultants showed a live project website (engagekalispell.com) that contains the questionnaire, the interactive map, meeting and event listings, resources and a subscription option for project updates. The consultants listed upcoming outreach events: pop-up drop-ins at Sykes Market and Coffee Traders, a session at the Flathead County Library, an open house at the Depot Building and other locations; staff said they would return for additional rounds of outreach in June.
Commissioners stressed the importance of explaining to the public why the process is front-loaded — that this is the primary period for public input on policy directions — and asked that the explanatory language be placed prominently on the project website. Staff and the consultants said they would refine site wording and graphics and circulate FAQs and event notices via the city’s subscriber lists and social media channels.
No formal action was taken; the work session focused on outreach strategy, stakeholder interviews already underway and the schedule for upcoming events and materials to support the plan update.
