Whitefish looks at business districts

The Daily Inter Lake

After delving into design standards for downtown Whitefish businesses, the city planning office wants some policy direction on uses for the city's other business districts.

City Council members will have a chance for input at the work session before tonight's council meeting. The work session starts at 6 p.m. and the regular council meeting starts at 7:10 p.m. in City Hall.

David Taylor, director of planning and zoning, wants the council's guidance on the WB-2 zones, the business districts along Spokane and U.S. 93 South.

He hopes to clarify the differences between those areas and the Central Avenue downtown district, which is zoned WB-3.

The council meeting itself has a relatively light agenda:

. Latitude 48, the restaurant at the corner of Central Avenue and Second Street owned by Bill Foley's Folco Development Corporation, is seeking a conditional use permit for a bar/lounge with a restaurant.

Folco Development already has a beer and wine license for the restaurant, but now has acquired a full liquor license. It's coming to the council with the Planning Board's recommendation for approval.

. Owners of a house at 14 Minnesota Ave. want permission for an accessory apartment there. The Planning Board recommends approving the conditional use permit that will allow it.

. Parks and Recreation seeks council approval of an $82,446 bid to buy a new ice resurfacer from Olympia Millennium.

. The Public Works Department is bringing a recommendation to hire WGM Group of Missoula as consultant for the U.S. 93 utility improvements project. Three of the six firms submitting statements of qualifications were interviewed.

. Public Works Director John Wilson will let the council know of the Montana Department of Transportation's open house at 7 p.m. Aug. 19 in City Council chambers, as the state agency and Robert Peccia and Associates give information and solicit comments on the U.S. 93 corridor through Whitefish.

. The council also got a letter from Ray Zampieri, who wants the city to buy his downtown land for parking. It is in a residential area.