Critical-areas law back on Whitefish agenda

The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish's embattled critical-areas ordinance is back on the Whitefish City Council agenda tonight for two different reasons.

First, the council will hold a work session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to discuss how the comprehensive drainage law applies to existing planned-unit developments and subdivisions. The Planning Board on June 19 considered but later defeated an amendment that would exclude platted lots that existed before the ordinance took effect in early April.

Instead, the Planning Board opted to send a list of concerns to the council.

The council also will deal with a public hearing later in the evening for 10 minor changes to the critical-areas ordinance.

They are largely housekeeping items aimed at further clarifying the law.

For example, one change clarifies that the 75-foot buffer is measured from the ordinary high-water mark and not the "top of bank." Another change authorizes the public works director to waive requirements of a water quality plan for minor disturbances.

IN OTHER business, the council has two more hearings scheduled. The first deals with amending the city's urban-renewal plan to incorporate the downtown master plan and approve the proposed emergency services center as an urban renewal project.

The final hearing is a resolution increasing ambulance fees. The fee increase is designed to offset a rise in the cost of providing ambulance services over the past year and would boost revenue to the ambulance fund by 4.1 percent.

The council will consider awarding a $3 million construction contract to Swank Enterprises of Kalispell for the wastewater system improvement project. Other contracts under consideration are a $171,111 contract to Goose Bay Construction for the Second Street bike path and $300,335 for the Edgewood Place bike path.

Last but not least, council member Shirley Jacobson has asked for discussion about developing a city noise ordinance.

The council meets at 4:30 p.m. to talk with consultant Greg Prothman about the city manager hiring process, then switches to critical-areas ordinance discussion at 5:30 p.m. The regular meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. All three meetings are at Whitefish City Hall.