The Kalispell City Council on Dec. 15 approved Ordinance 19-48, a zoning-text amendment intended to clarify the city’s process for revoking conditional-use permits (CUPs). The council adopted the ordinance after a second reading and roll-call vote.

Tanya Horn, executive director of the Flathead Warming Center, told the council she supported rewriting city code but urged the council not to ‘‘rubber stamp’’ the amendment and to add ‘‘guardrails’’ that would prevent future councils from making subjective revocation decisions. ‘‘I don't want that to happen again to anyone ever,’’ Horn said, describing what she called an absence of evidence and due process during the city's prior action against the warming center.

Staff described the measure as largely consistent with language used by other Montana municipalities and said it adds notice and appeal procedures to the city code. The city attorney and staff told councilors that state law does not include specific CUP revocation language but gives municipalities zoning authority and that the amendment does not conflict with state law.

Councilor Graham said protecting underlying zone uses is the purpose of CUP conditions and expressed support for the ordinance, saying similar language has been pulled from other cities. Another council member, citing a letter from the Institute for Justice and a federal preliminary injunction in the warming-center case, said they could not support the amendment as written and urged more substantive changes.

On the roll-call vote, Councilor Dahlmann and Councilor Hunter voted No; Councilors Nunnally, Carlson, Gabriel, Graham, Dowd and Mayor Johnson voted Yes, and the ordinance carried.

The ordinance amends the Kalispel zoning ordinance (referenced in the packet as ordinance 16-77) by adding clarifying language to chapters cited in the motion and declaring an effective date. The council did not specify additional amendments or an implementation timeline beyond the adopted language.

The next procedural step is enforcement under the new code language; Horn had urged the council to allow the incoming council to review the change before final adoption to reduce the risk of future litigation.