Planners OK townhouse project on golf course

The Daily Inter Lake

A revamped high-density townhouse project planned on the Par 3 on 93 Golf Course won a unanimous endorsement from the Whitefish planning board on Thursday.

"It was a drastically changed plan," Whitefish Planning Director Bob Horne said about the 169-unit project called The Views.

"They increased open space, decreased the asphalt and changed [the unit configuration] to all townhomes."

The previous design called for some stacked condominiums.

Horne said the board was pleased with the new design that allows for about 35 percent open space on the golf-course property.

The board last month tabled the proposal to resolve open-space and design issues.

Pacific Coast Development of Newport Beach, Calif., is the developer of the project.

To maximize open space, the design was "flipped," Horne said, so the backs of the townhouses will adjoin the motor court.

"Previously they had planned little back yards, and it wasn't very functional," he said.

The developer also agreed to build 10 affordable-housing units at the site.

In other planning-board business from Thursday:

-A 20-home subdivision on the east side of Texas Avenue won narrow approval.

The 9.3 acres, within 700 feet of Denver Street, shows up on the Whitefish master plan as an environmentally sensitive area because of high groundwater and dense soil, and neighbors are concerned about drainage, Horne said.

Developer Jim Purdy will be required to have a city-approved drainage plan for the project.

"There are hydric soils all over on the east side of Whitefish," Horne said. "We'll have to plan that area with a tweezer."

-A conditional-use permit request for 14 dwelling units on Wisconsin Avenue was tabled at the request of applicant Kathleen Nangle.

-Eagle Crest Unit Owners Association won approval of a conditional-use permit for four additional units in two buildings at 1401-1409 U.S. 93 N.