Here’s your [fashionably late in the day] Monday primer about the Land Use Plan updates in Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish. There is a lot of activity this week. Read below for information on upcoming meetings and to find out what happened last week.
Columbia Falls
We summarized the city’s wastewater treatment plant capacity limitations in this blog post.
The city’s Land Use Plan consultants release the results of their initial survey on January 6. Click here to view the results.
Upcoming
Columbia Falls City Council meeting, Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 7 p.m., Columbia Falls City Hall (130 6th St W, Columbia Falls).
Further consideration of future development in light of the city’s wastewater infrastructure limitations. Read our blog post on this here.
Columbia Falls City Council and Planning Commission: Joint Meeting, Monday, January 26, 2026 at 7 p.m., Columbia Falls City Hall (130 6th St W, Columbia Falls).
Discussion of the Land Use Plan existing conditions and community survey results.
Last Week
Nothing last week.
COLUMBIA FALLS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WEBSITE
Kalispell
Upcoming
Nothing this week.
Last Week
KALISPELL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WEBSITE
Whitefish
We summarized the city’s Land Use Element Open House in this blog post.
Upcoming
Whitefish City Council Vision 2045 Work Session, Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 5:30 p.m., Whitefish City Hall (418 E 2nd St, Whitefish).
The Whitefish City Council will take its first look at previously approved (by the Planning Commission) sections of the Land Use Plan, providing direction to staff for updates. It is expected that much of the discussion will focus on the Economic Development Element.
Last Week
The city hosted an open house with consultants czb, LLC for presentation of their recommendations for the Land Use Element. Read our blog post here to see what was presented.
The Whitefish Planning Commission met and received a presentation by the consultants about the Land Use Element, but deferred recommendations until a draft was available.
The Planning Commission also heard from many high school students with their ideas on growth in the city. Ideas presented included:
Composting
Improved Cycling Infrastructure
Regional Stormwater Facilities
Social Housing
Roadside Vegetation Barriers
Increased Housing Density
Agriculture Conservation
Improved Public Transportation
Pedestrianization of Central Ave.