Study will take long look at housing in city; Employers will be surveyed, too

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Columbia Falls will undergo a comprehensive housing study that will not only look at the current housing market, but will also survey employers, look at the impacts of vacation rentals and second homes and a host of other factors impacting the city’s housing needs.

During a workshop last week with the Columbia Falls Planning Commission, consultant Wendy Sullivan and her staff met via videoconference to discuss the study, which is already underway. 

The study is mandated by the Montana Land Use Planning Act, also known as Senate Bill 382, passed by the Montana Legislature in 2023 and will be used for the city to craft a new master plan. 

Sullivan and her staff went over the scope of the study and took suggestions from the commission and the general public on the detail of the study. 

The hope is to have a draft of the study by February and a final completed by March. 

Sullivan is no stranger to this process. She’s been involved in community planning for 25 years and grew up in Colorado. 

The company a few years back did a similar study for Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

She said at least part of the study will determine “what the market is providing and what it’s not.” 

“Affordable” housing, at least in terms of this study, is defined as a person or family having to spend 30% or less of their gross income on a house payment or rent. 

The study will also look at demographics, entail employee surveys, access current and future needs, land development opportunities (or lack thereof) and the housing patterns. While the study will focus on the 59912 Zip code, commission members and the general public urged them to look outside as well, like Whitefish and Kalispell. 

There was also concern about the secondary home market and vacation rentals impacts on housing. Commission member Justin Ping also suggested they look at the need for seasonal housing and also examine needs east of the city, as the Forest Service and Park Service are large employers, particularly in the summer months. 

Another facet of the market is where people are working remotely in jobs that can make housing here affordable, at least at their pay scale. 

The employer survey is expected to start in October and will take a few weeks, so Sullivan asked city officials to get the word out to local employers. 

The contract for the study is for $57,100, of which $30,000 is covered by a state Department of Commerce grant and the remainder by city coffers.