Whitefish looks at sign-law changes

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board on Thursday will hold a public hearing on a proposed sign-ordinance change to include signs specific to performing art centers.

The proposed amendments are aimed at giving the O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center and the Whitefish Performing Arts Center a way to comply with the city’s sign laws and still be able to advertise upcoming productions with temporary signs.

Over the years, both nonprofit groups have indicated an interest in displaying a new banner for each event or a long-term banner for an entire summer.

But sign regulations permit only one 24-square-foot banner for 30 consecutive days once every six months.

“When staff reviewed the temporary sign provisions it is clear that this section [of the law] is intended to serve commercial business needs and not the event promotion needs for a nonprofit performing arts center,” senior planner Wendy Compton-Ring said in a staff report.

The proposal includes placing specific land uses into their own section instead of within a designated sign district. Performing art centers and schools would be included in the new subsection of the regulations. If approved by the City Council, the amendments eventually also could apply to city parks.

Two other public hearings are on the agenda:

• A request by Brett and Brenda Miller for a two-lot subdivision 20 acres along Armory Road. A portion of the property is developed with two single-family homes, but the vast majority of the acreage is undeveloped.

• A request by Koel and Lazette Abell for a guest house at 355 Lost Coon Trail.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at Whitefish City Hall.