June 22, 2026 - Your Weekly Flathead Valley Land Use Planning Brief

Your Weekly Flathead Valley Land Use Planning Brief

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Here’s your weekly primer for land use across the Flathead Valley.

Last week the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies released The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026, its annual report on the country’s housing supply, affordability, and demand.

Keep reading below for more on that and for a recap of what happened last week and to find out what’s happening this week here in the Flathead Valley.

THIS WEEK'S TOP STORY

The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026

Across the US, persistent affordability challenges and rising economic uncertainty are hurting housing markets. Weakening labor markets and plummeting immigration have dampened household growth and mobility. Sales of existing homes sit at three-decade lows and inventories are rising in the face of high homebuying costs. In the multifamily segment, rents fell, demand slipped, and vacancies rose. Although markets are struggling to absorb a wave of new deliveries, cost burdens have hit another record high for renters and worsened for homeowners, and assistance remains profoundly underfunded. In response to federal retrenchment on numerous housing policies, states and localities are seeking new tools to bring down costs and protect their most vulnerable residents.
With a median asking rent of $1,900 for new multifamily units and a median new single-family home price of roughly $417,400 in 2025, most new housing is unaffordable to even the median-income household at the standard affordability threshold of 30 percent of income, and is unattainable for lower-income households.
The number of units renting for less than $1,000 per month in inflation-adjusted terms dropped by more than 30 percent between 2014 and 2024, reducing the low-rent stock by more than 7 million units.

IN THE NEWS

Columbia Falls OKs new land use plan, zoning regulations

Grounded in Whitefish: how to own and build homes for locals

Kalispell Establishes Temporary Housing Study Advisory Committee

Whitefish City Council Discusses Future of Resort Tax Community Housing Funds

Judge Pauses Water Permit for Lakeside Development, Allowing for Administrative Review

Conservation district to review Bigfork Bay marina

Kalispell council to review updated plans for the city’s water and sewer systems

Design finalized for Batavia Lane, US 2 roundabout; construction slated for next year

Glacier Park Airport Runway to Close on Weekdays Starting July 6

Going-to-the-Sun Road will open Monday

Nursing Home Providers Warn of Impacts from Medicaid Reimbursement Rate Plateau

Free meals available for children and teens over the summer

THIS WEEK IN MEETINGS

Week of June 22, 2026

Columbia Falls

No relevant meetings this week.

Kalispell

Kalispell City Council work session, Monday, June 22, 2026 at 7:00 p.m., Kalispell City Hall Council Chambers (201 1st Ave E, Kalispell).
- Water System Facility Plan, Wastewater Collection System Facility Plan, and Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan.
  - Council will review draft updates to the three municipal utility facility plans, last updated in 2018 and 2019. The plans guide utility investment and capital planning to support the city’s growth, changing development patterns, and annexation boundaries.
  - A public hearing on the plans is scheduled for the July 6 regular meeting.
Applications to serve on the new Housing Study Advisory Committee are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at kalispell.com/boards, with appointments expected at the July 6 regular meeting.

Whitefish

The Sustainable Tourism Resident Survey has been posted by the city and is available to complete through July 1, 2026.

No relevant meetings this week.

LAST WEEK'S RECAP

Week of June 15–21, 2026

Columbia Falls

Columbia Falls City Council regular meeting, Monday, June 15, 2026 at 7 p.m., Columbia Falls City Hall (130 6th St W, Columbia Falls). (meeting video)
- Council approved, on final reading, the Teakettle Heights development application— finalizing the 421-home development it first approved June 1.
- Council approved, on final reading, the two ordinances updating the city’s zoning and subdivision regulations (Titles 17 and 18) to comply with MLUPA, completing the overhaul begun with the June 8 adoption of the new land use plan and map. Columbia Falls is the last of the three cities in Flathead County to finish the process.

Kalispell

Kalispell City Council regular meeting, Monday, June 15, 2026 at 7 p.m., Kalispell City Hall (201 1st Ave E, Kalispell). (meeting video)
- Council approved the creation of a temporary Housing Study Advisory Committee, expanded by amendment to seven members (from five). The committee will draft a request for proposals for a citywide housing study and make policy recommendations; the mayor will appoint members at the July 6 meeting.
- Council also approved a $113,700 tax increment financing loan, from the West Side/Core Area TIF program, for Mach Development’s planned 24-unit rent-restricted apartment building at 40 Appleway Drive, serving households earning 50–60% of the area median income.

Whitefish

Whitefish City Council work session, Monday, June 15, 2026 at 6:00 p.m., Whitefish City
Hall (418 E Second St, Whitefish). (No public video; recap from news coverage.)
- No formal vote was taken. Council discussed shifting the resort tax community housing grant to a formal application process with a review panel, and floated asking voters to approve an additional 1% resort tax dedicated to housing under Senate Bill 172.
Whitefish City Council regular meeting, Monday, June 15, 2026 at 7:10 p.m., Whitefish City
Hall (418 E Second St, Whitefish). (meeting video)
- Following a public hearing, Council unanimously adopted Resolution 26-16, the annual update to the Legacy Homes Program, raising the fee in lieu from $378,089 to $380,092 per home.

Additional Resources from Livable Flathead

LEARN HOW LAND USE PLANS AFFECT YOU

VISIT THE LIVABLE FLATHEAD BLOG FOR DETAILED WRITEUPS ABOUT LAND USE PLANS IN COLUMBIA FALLS, KALISPELL, AND WHITEFISH

COLUMBIA FALLS OVERVIEW

KALISPELL OVERVIEW

WHITEFISH OVERVIEW