Your Weekly Flathead Valley Land Use Planning Brief

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Welcome back to your Monday primer about the Land Use Plan updates in Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish. Things are moving right along in all three cities. Read below for what happened last week, upcoming meetings, and other pertinent information.

2026 is the year that brand new Land Use Plans will be adopted throughout the Flathead Valley. New zoning codes will also be adopted to comply with state law. All of this will happen by the middle of May.

Columbia Falls

The city’s Land Use Plan consultants release the results of their initial survey on January 6. Click here to view the results.

Upcoming:

• Nothing this week.

Last Week:

• The Columbia Falls Planning Commission met on January 8 for further discussion about the city’s wastewater utility infrastructure. The city’s current wastewater infrastructure can accommodate up to 1,894 additional people in the city. Click here for more details about this meeting.

Kalispell

Upcoming:

• Kalispell Planning Commission Public Hearing on the city’s draft Land Use Plan on Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 6 p.m., Kalispell City Hall (201 1st Ave E, Kalispell). Click here to view the agenda.

  • This will likely be the Planning Commission’s final review of this draft document before it is forwarded to the Kalispell City Council for final adoption.

Last Week:

• Nothing last week.

Whitefish

Upcoming:

• The city will be hosting a Land Use Element Open House with consultants czb, LLC on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Whitefish City Hall (418 E 2nd St, Whitefish).

  • This is a drop-in session, meaning that member of the public can attend at their convenience during the window noted above.

• Whitefish Planning Commission meeting, Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 5 p.m., Whitefish City Hall (418 E 2nd St, Whitefish).

  • Whitefish High School Seniors will make presentation’s related to their projects about the city’s new Land Use Plan beginning at 5 p.m.

  • At 6 p.m., consultants czb, LLC will present about the Land Use Element, which will be followed by Planning Commission direction to staff about this draft.