Decision postponed on ski-resort master plan
A new master plan for Big Mountain drew praise from the Whitefish City-County Planning Board on Thursday, but the board postponed a decision to sort out questions about zoning, parking and a couple of development projects targeted for the Chair 3 area.
The public hearing will be continued on May 18.
"The homework is good. You're spending a lot of time to get it right," planning board president Dennis Bee told Winter Sports Inc. representatives. Winter Sports is the parent company of Big Mountain.
It's the second time in recent months the resort master plan has been through the planning process. An earlier version called for an expansive hotel and conference center but was turned down because of the building's massive scale.
Once approved, the Big Mountain master plan will become an amendment to the Whitefish growth policy that's currently being drafted.
The heart of the newest plan is a retail and lodging plaza at the bottom of Chair 1. Instead of concentrating lodging into one big resort hotel and convention center, the new plan breaks up the hotel offerings into about 10 buildings, most of which would be in the current parking lots below the village area.
Chair 2 would be rebuilt east of its current alignment so it would connect with the plaza area.
The plan splits the zoning into two categories - resort residential for the clusters of development close to the ski area and a village designation to allow mixed uses in the resort core area.
Some homeowners questioned the boundaries for the proposed zoning, particularly in the Gelande Street and Subdivision I areas, where homeowners felt their properties should carry resort, not residential, zoning.
Another concern was two pods of development slated alongside Chair 3. Homeowners in that area questioned how such development would affect their ability to ski in and out of their properties.
Doug and Linda Wold, who own property near Kinta Lodge, said they were promised they always would have ski in/ski out access with Chair 3.
Despite their concerns, the Wolds said they were generally pleased with the plan.
"I thank Fred [Jones] for a nice plan and the willingness to listen," Linda Wold said.
Jones, Winter Sports chief executive officer, suggested pulling the Chair 3 development pods out of the master plan for more detailed planning to keep the master plan moving forward.
"We fully intend to keep skiing on Chair 3," Jones promised.
The planning board specified further review for the Chair 3 area but didn't scrap that portion of the plan.
Parking at Edelweiss Condominiums and Alpinglow Inn also needs to be better addressed, the board decided.
Planning-board member Scott Sorensen asked about the fate of Big Mountain Chalet, the oldest building at the ski resort that houses the popular Hellroaring Saloon. The master plan calls for the building to be removed because it's in a spot that's key to making the proposed plaza work for skiers using Chair 2, the T-bar and Chair 3.
Winter Sports consultants maintain the wooden building structurally could not withstand being moved to a different location.
"The plan is to re-create the chalet design in a building reflective of that style," Jones said. "We'd salvage the Hellroaring interior. We don't want to go a winter without Hellroaring."
The master plan is designed to guide Big Mountain development for the next two decades. It includes 280 acres of land Winter Sports purchased from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. New ski terrain and a new restaurant are planned in the area of Stoltze Knob.
Jones noted that much of the acreage in the Haskill Creek Preserve will be retained as open space. The drainage would be used for cross-country skiing and hiking trails.
Planning board member Lisa Horowitz commended the Winter Sports design team on a proposal that "sets a new standard" for neighborhood plans.
"This is great," she said. "It's big, though, and I think approving it tonight would be a leap of faith."
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com