Board considers gym's permit request

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board closes out its year on Thursday with two public hearings on zoning matters and discussion about Whitefish sign law issues.

The first public hearing involves the CrossFit gym south of Whitefish. MIchael Bode is requesting an after-the-fact conditional use permit for Big Mountain CrossFit in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse building at 5932 U.S. 93 S.

The property is zoned suburban agriculture, but recreational facilities are a permitted conditional use.

The findings of fact report from the Whitefish Planning Office notes concerns about the adequacy of on-site utilities. The property is served by an on-site septic system, but because there’s been a change in use, the county Health Department requires an updated septic permit for the new use.

When the county approved a one-bedroom single-family home septic system on the property in 1989, there were a number of limitations placed on the system due to its close proximity to the water well and high groundwater in the area.

“If the county is unable to approve the change in use, the applicant will either need to connect to city services, which are approximately 1,168 feet from the subject parcel, or abandon the use,” planner Wendy Compton-Ring wrote in her staff report.

Water-well monitoring was to have been done annually because of the closeness of the septic system, but the county doesn’t have any record of such monitoring.

The Planning Office recommends approval of the conditional-use permit provided the applicant can obtain a valid septic permit for the proposed recreation facility use.

The second hearing focuses on proposed amendments to city zoning laws that pertain to retaining walls. The existing regulations have created some difficulty, Compton-Ring said in her staff report, such as the exemption for retaining walls 24 inches high or less, above the original grade. The current rules also calls for retaining walls over 24 inches to be regulated as an accessory structure that requires a building permit.

With the 24-inch exemption, there’s too much wiggle room about where the original grade is for those wanting to avoid getting a permit, so the planning staff is recommending that all retaining walls be required to have a permit unless it’s clearly a landscaping feature.

Regulating a retaining wall as an accessory structure also can be difficult because of the narrowness and steepness of a lot, or in cases where two neighbors have a joint retaining wall, the staff report says.

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