Plan board backs Big Mountain master plan
The Daily Inter Lake
The Big Mountain master plan drew unanimous support from the Whitefish City-County Planning Board on Thursday, but zoning for one of the resort's oldest subdivisions was pulled out of the plan for further review.
Winter Sports Inc., operator of the ski resort, had proposed resort residential zoning for Subdivision No. 1, a 26-lot development subdivided in 1954. The subdivision has always been unzoned and development has occurred without any road improvement requirements or building review.
Neighbors testified that the area, which includes some commercial development, would be better served with a resort designation. Property owners said it would be difficult to meet the proposed setbacks in the resort residential zoning. Buildings have historically been developed to encumber most of their lot size.
The Whitefish Planning Department will further study that area and put it back on the June agenda of the planning board.
"We'll take a step back and notify all of the neighbors to find a suitable zoning designation ," senior planner Wendy Compton-Ring said.
The master plan generally 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.
Winter Sports also omitted two pods of development along Chair 3 from the master plan.
The planning board unanimously voted to recommend that the Whitefish City Council approve the master plan.
Once approved by the Whitefish City Council, the Big Mountain master plan would become an amendment to the Whitefish growth policy that's currently being drafted.
The heart of the 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.
IN OTHER business, the board:
-Approved a conditional-use permit for Ole Netteberg to construct an outbuilding for a home occupation at 5491 U.S. 93 S.
-Adopted an outdoor lighting ordinance that establishes new standards for residential, commercial and industrial exterior lighting.
-OK'd Clark Subdivision on 4.69 acres off Wisconsin Avenue across from Mountain Trails Park.