Whitefish west-side zoning plan emerges

The Daily Inter Lake

A zoning plan for the west side of Whitefish Lake makes its debut at a Whitefish City-County Planning Board public hearing Thursday.

The plan includes areas such as Little Mountain Properties, Lion Mountain, Lazy Bay and Britells Point of Pines subdivisions and Point Inez Villa Sites.

The 2,880-acre tract of currently unzoned land would be split into five zoning classes.

A majority of the land, about 2,639 acres, would be classified as agricultural with a minimum lot size of 15 acres. Country residential, with a 2.5-acre minimum, is proposed for about 120 acres, and 69 acres would be zoned suburban residential with a 1-acre minimum lot size. A small sliver of land, 36 acres, would be designated as estate residential with a 20,000-square-foot minimum lot size. Sixteen acres would be zoned limited residential with a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.

The zoning plan encompasses the last large area of unzoned land within Whitefish's new planning jurisdiction. The city previously zoned the Montana 40 corridor, Northwoods and the area east of East Lakeshore Drive in its quest to place zoning on all land within the new jurisdiction.

In other business, the planning board has four hearings slated:

-Meadowlark Estates, a 16-lot subdivision, is on the agenda for preliminary-plat approval. The applicants also propose to resubdivide Lots 2 through 9 of Mountain Seniors Subdivision Phase II to accommodate townhouse construction.

-Holy Nativity and St. Matthew's Episcopal churches have asked for a conditional-use permit to relocate the Whitefish church and adjacent building and build a new church off Conn Road.

-Scott Rosaaen is asking for an after-the-fact permit to expand a nonconforming apartment building at 203 Skyles Place.

-The city of Whitefish wants approval of Baker Commons, eight lots on 16.2 acres on the southwest corner of Baker Avenue and West 13th Street.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.