Hotel plans formalized; public hearing Oct. 13

Plans for a hotel in Columbia Falls are taking formal shape. The Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board will host a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 13 for a planned unit development for the hotel adjacent to Pinewood Park at the former Norem property. The city council will hold a subsequent hearing Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. on the project.

Ruis Holdings LLC has plans to build an 82-room three-story hotel on the property, with 64 rooms in the first phase.

Mick Ruis, who has recently purchased several properties in the city, is the primary developer.

The land is zoned as commercial business-2, which allows for hotels, though there are deviations in height and parking. The building would need a variance for height - city codes call for a maximum height of 45 feet while the applicant seeks a height of 47 feet. They're also asking for parking variances, noting a 3,000-square foot conference room inside the hotel will primarily be used for day activities, while the hotel will be used at night. In addition, the applicant is seeking a five-foot setback from the building to the Pinewood Park property line, as a portion of the building would encroach on the standard 10-foot setback. The hotel itself would be on the west side of a 2.55-acre parcel and the parking would be to the east, abutting Second Avenue West.

The property has been all but vacant for decades. It used to have row houses and a trailer park. All but one of the row houses have been torn down.

One of the city council's top goals was to attract a hotel to the city. The hotel will not be a chain, but will be independently owned and operated, city manager Susan Nicosia said previously. The developers came up with this plan to avoid having to move a main sewer line that runs through the property.

They have indicated they would like to break ground this fall in order to be open by next summer.