Columbia Falls planning commission recommends annexation, PUD and preliminary plat for Teakettle Heights after heated public comment

The Columbia Falls Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve annexation, initial zoning, a planned unit development (PUD) and a preliminary plat for the 78.05‑acre Teakettle Heights subdivision, after a two‑hour public hearing in which dozens of neighbors raised concerns about contamination, wildlife loss, traffic and sewer capacity. The commission added four conditions before forwarding the package to council.

City planner Eric Mulcahy told commissioners that staff’s findings support the three linked applications—annexation/initial zoning to change the site to a CR‑5 urban residential designation, a PUD request that includes a requested deviation to allow 45‑foot multifamily buildings, and a major subdivision that would create an estimated 421 dwelling units: 56 attached single‑family, 125 detached single‑family and 240 apartment units. Mulcahy said staff recommends adoption of the findings for the three reports and proposed 26 standard conditions addressing fire access, road and utility construction, stormwater, homeowner association responsibilities and other technical requirements.

Neighbors and community groups focused their comments on three themes. Several residents described the recent clearing and burning of trees on the site and said wildlife that…