Palmer ready to take mayoral reins as a 'negotiator by nature'

If the Whitefish City Council were a basketball team, Nick Palmer would be the point guard.

"I'm a negotiator by nature and a problem-solver," he said. "I get an idea of what needs to be done and I go to the right people."

Palmer is in a three-way race for mayor with interim mayor Cris Coughlin and former mayor Mike Jenson. If he loses, he will retain his City Council seat for another two years.

The mail-in election began Wednesday.

He's proud of the work the council has done in the face of Whitefish's 53 percent increase in population since 2000.

"This council has been very courageous in ways past councils haven't been," Palmer stated. "We've already laid the foundation for handling future growth."

Palmer said recently approved impact fees, which roughly doubled existing plant-investment fees for water and sewer, will help pay for numerous improvements, including bike trails, a new City Hall and new emergency-services building.

"In record time we've put together a growth policy which still needs to be worked on but will protect the town's culture and prevent sprawl while still allowing ample room for growth," Palmer said.

The growth policy was based heavily on community involvement from months of neighborhood meetings, he emphasized.

"This council doesn't think it has all the answers," he said.

He pointed to the council's recent approval of the Safeway grocery store reconstruction project as an example of how the existing council deals with future growth. While some criticized the city for micromanaging details of the remodel, Palmer said the decision "gave new energy to the architectural review committee."

It's all about protecting what make Whitefish unique, he said.

THE CITY is completing legislation to protect water quality in drainage-sensitive areas, despite harsh criticism from the development community. Palmer stands by his contention that the critical areas ordinance is a "brilliant piece of legislation.

"Our law is unique in that it allows the maximum amount of development with the maximum amount of protection," he said. "We say you can build on any slope but you have to meet scientifically based standards."

Palmer is puzzled by the developers' response that the legislation is now too complicated because, he said, they're the ones who wanted the law based on science.

"They want to build where, when and what they want," he said.

Palmer said he's been miffed by public criticism of the City Council on several levels, from the budget and capital-improvement plan to the critical areas ordinance, and believes it's a well-orchestrated effort that really is about developers' opposition to the coming growth policy.

"The amount of money and effort used to discredit the council and this multipronged attack doesn't make any sense unless you consider the $100 million worth of development that's at stake," he said.

What Palmer believes the development community doesn't understand is that by protecting Whitefish with well-planned land use, their investments become all the more valuable.

"We create a jewel against the rest of the valley," he said.

PALMER FEELS the council's approach to control in the two-mile planning area has been appropriately light, with voluntary zoning permits. The reason the city wanted a say in that area is to influence growth in a way that keeps Whitefish looking like a resort community and not a strip mall, he said, adding that he's not opposed to commercial development at the city's gateways if it's done appropriately and with significant landscaping.

"Our job is to protect the public assets, not to maximize any individual's investment," Palmer stated. "We don't want to weep over what we've lost by having it look like Highway 2 and its disjointed development."

Building height will have to be addressed case by case, he said, but he believes the current feel of downtown has to be maintained. If a bigger building can be "done properly and with good architectural value" and be "tucked in" outside the town's main corridor, Palmer would consider it.

Public criticism over city spending is unfounded, he maintained.

"The auditor says we're doing a terrific job of putting new income into roads, sewers, etc." he said. "We've had all this flak thrown at us. They're attacking the budget when it's terrific. It's all about the growth policy. It's all smoke and mirrors to hide developers' opposition to the growth policy."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com