Your Weekly Flathead Valley Land Use Planning Brief

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Happy New Year! This is your Monday primer about the Land Use Plan updates in Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish. Read on 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. Read on below to learn more about your opportunities to get involved in the process.

Columbia Falls

Upcoming:

• Columbia Falls Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, January 8, 2025 at 6 p.m., Columbia Falls City Hall (130 6th St W, Columbia Falls)

  • Link above will contain the agenda when it is available. The agenda is not currently available.

Last Week:

• Nothing. The Columbia Falls City Council reviewed the city’s utility infrastructure at its December 15, 2025 meeting. Click here to view the video of that discussion.

Kalispell

Upcoming:

• Nothing this week.

• 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 fowarded onto the Kalispell City Council for final adoption.

Last Week:

• Nothing last week.

Whitefish

Upcoming:

• Whitefish will have frequent Land Use Plan meetings during the month of January. The current plan is for a meeting every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.

• Whitefish City Council meeting, Monday, January 5, 2026 at 7:10 p.m., Whitefish City Hall (418 E 2nd St, Whitefish).

  • There will be discussion about the city’s previously adopted housing needs assessment, which local advocacy group Shelter WF has challenged as undershooting the city’s future need for housing to accommodate both previously displaced residents and new residents.

• Whitefish Planning Commission meeting to continue discussion of the draft Housing Element, Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at 6 p.m., Whitefish City Hall (418 E 2nd St, Whitefish).