Planning commision OK’s townhomes

After a couple of hours of discussion, the Columbia Falls City Planning Commission voted in favor of annexing a 2-plus acre parcel into the city and approved sending plans for a small subdivision on the parcel to Columbia Falls City Council with a positive recommendation.

Toby and Mindy Gilchrist are proposing a 10 lot, 20-unit townhome subdivision on 2.27 acres on a vacant piece of land at 274 Meadow Lake Boulevard.

The parcel is located on a wooded lot north of the intersection of the Truck Route.

Several neighbors spoke out against the development, at least initially. Most notable was homeowner Chris Smith, who lives immediately adjacent to the parcel. He was worried about the density of the development, as it didn’t fit into the character of the neighborhood, which is largely single family homes on wooded lots. He said he wasn’t against more housing, but he was concerned about the density.

But by the end of the meeting, Smith conceded the project would likely get approval, and he asked that a 6-foot privacy fence between his property and the Gilchrist’s be erected, which Gilchrist was amenable to.

The bulk of the debate centered around what would be the appropriate setbacks for the development. As designed, they would be 10 feet. The board debated back and forth on whether they should be 20 feet, but that would force the homes closer to the street and could end up causing parking issues. In addition, Gilchrist and his designers noted, it might mean they would have to make the townhomes three stories, rather than the two as they are designed.

In the end, the commission agreed to leave the setbacks as designed, particularly after Smith and Gilchrist agreed on the fence.

The commission did add one significant condition to the project by adding a stipulation that none of the units could be used as short-term rentals.

Gilchrist was amenable to that, saying the goal of the project was to make more affordable townhomes for people.

Each townhome as designed will be about 1,300-1,400 square feet with a two-car garage. It will also have a basketball court and a pickleball court. The street serving it will be private, and the development, once complete, will be governed by a homeowners association.

City services like water will have to be extended to the site, as city water only goes as far as Timber Creek Village, which is just to the south.

The city council will now take up the project at its Jan. 21 meeting.

Gilchrist previously proposed a 36-unit apartment complex on a parcel in 2022 to the south on Meadow Lake Boulevard. The Columbia Falls City Council approved that initially, but then Gilchrist asked the council to allow him to turn half the units into short-term rentals.

Council rejected that idea, as the city already had numerous short-term rentals. The apartments were approved with the condition that there be no short-term rentals.

Gilchrist never developed the apartments as market conditions changed.

This story has been corrected to note that the townhome parcel is a separate parcel from the previously proposed apartments.