Whitefish finalizes zoning plans next week meeting

The Daily Inter Lake

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board hopes to wrap up work next week on two plans to place zoning on unzoned land within its new jurisdictional area.

A special meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at Whitefish City Hall.

Zoning plans for the Montana 40 corridor and the Northwoods/Big Mountain areas have been reviewed by the board, but the planning staff requested the plans be continued to a special meeting to ensure that proper notification went out to adjacent property owners, Whitefish Planning Director Bob Horne said.

Public comment will again be taken on both plans.

The city is proposing Whitefish zoning districts in unincorporated areas where there is currently no county zoning. For the most part, the city has proposed agricultural and county residential districts. Where there is existing county zoning, the city will let that zoning stand for now, and will review all zoning across the jurisdictional area once the growth policy update is finished next year, Horne said.

If the board can complete hearings on the two plans, the zoning recommendations will go before the City Council on Nov. 21 for an additional public hearing and first reading of ordinances implementing the plans.

In addition to the two zoning plans, the board will hear updates on affordable-housing efforts by the Whitefish Housing Authority, the lighting committee and the city master utilities plan.