Board considers overhaul of subdivision rules
The first major rewrite of Whitefish subdivision regulations since 1995 goes under the microscope at a Whitefish City-County Planning Board public hearing on Thursday.
The draft includes recent legislative changes to the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act, City Council policy actions and a reorganization of the regulations to make them more user-friendly.
One of the more significant amendments to state subdivision regulations is the requirement for local jurisdictions to review an application for completeness at the time of submittal.
Within five working days of receiving an application, the city is required to determine if all the required elements have been submitted. If not, the city won't take further action until the application is deemed complete.
Another state change approved by the 2009 Legislature gave local jurisdictions the option of requiring the completion of certain health-and-safety-related improvements prior to submitting a subdivision application for final plat.
The city can choose from one of two options: either limit the issuance of a building permit or require certain improvements before final plat.
The Whitefish planning staff recommends the second option with the rationale it would be easier to administer and would ensure that any roads or utilities acquired by the city would be in better shape, according to the planning staff report.
Several of the proposed subdivision changes are designed to integrate Whitefish's critical-areas ordinance into the review process.
For example, as part of a preliminary plat application, a site characterization would be required for sites with slopes greater than 10 percent.
The resulting report would identify areas of geologic concern and categorize the proposed lots in three categories: no further review, either site-screening analysis or geotechnical letter or a site-stability analysis.
"The intent of this section is to identify the lots that might need additional analysis at the preliminary platting stage and not wait until the building permit stage," the staff report stated. "This should expedite the building permit review process."
The proposed subdivision rule changes encompass a wide swath of regulatory areas, from expanding neighborhood notification for major subdivisions to recommending a standard prohibiting gated subdivisions. Another access-related change would limit cul de sacs only to subdivisions where no apparent opportunities for street extensions exist.
Other recommendations focus on parkland and open-space requirements and noxious weeds.
IN OTHER business, the board will consider a request by a number of limited liability corporations to change the zoning on 33 acres in the Montana 40/Dillon Road/Conn Road area from agricultural and country residential to Whitefish business service district.
The business service district was created as a new land use when the Whitefish growth policy was drafted, and a year ago the city amended Whitefish zoning regulations to include business service districts, with the Montana 40 area in mind.
There are limited retail operations at a majority of the properties that area. The zone change would convert those nonconforming uses into permitted uses in a business service district.
The board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at Whitefish City Hall.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com