Trail easement under consideration
The Whitefish City Council is on the cusp of approving a deed of public recreation use easement that will create permanent public access for the Whitefish Trail.
A council work session tonight from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the proposed deed, and then a public hearing at the regularly scheduled meeting at 7:10 p.m., will be held prior to the council’s vote on the deed.
Subject also to Montana Land Board approval, the deed will be held by the city to secure a trail corridor and trail improvements for public use. The Land Board will consider the deed at its Nov. 19 meeting.
Trail amenities will include trailhead parking, unlighted signs, kiosks, vault toilets, steps, railings, water access sites, fishing access and boat rams
The resolution for the deed further provides for Two Bears Whitefish Properties, with which philanthropist Michael Goguen is affiliated, to grant an easement across Two Bears land.
Roughly 22 miles of a planned 55-mile trail system loop through state trust lands and around Whitefish Lake have been completed. Additional mileage will be completed in the Beaver Lake area over the next two years.
At its November and December meetings, the Land Board will consider several state trust land transactions proposed by the city of Whitefish, Whitefish Legacy Partners and Goguen.
Whitefish Legacy Partners is poised to send a letter of support for the deed of public recreation use easement, along with signatures of supporters, to the Land Board.
The components of its Whitefish Legacy Lands initiative include:
• Permanent recreation use easements in Beaver and Skyles lakes and Lion Mountain areas. This would allow more miles of trail connecting Woods, Dollar and Little Beaver lakes.
• Beaver Land Bank. With a two-homesite development restriction and a dedicated two-mile public trail as an addition to the Whitefish Trail, this land-banking project is aimed at ensuring views of Whitefish's scenic vistas will continue and would allow the state to buy higher income producing lands for trust beneficiaries.
• Whitefish Trail licenses in Lupfer, Swift-Lazy Creek and Spencer areas. These licenses would ensure that the existing trail system will generate a steady stream of revenue for the trust beneficiaries.
IN OTHER business at tonight’s council meeting, two additional public hearings are scheduled.
One hearing will consider a conditional use permit for Mary Persons to convert a residential property at 603 Wisconsin Ave. into a professional office building.
The other hearing is a conditional use permit application from Shelly Payne to build an accessory apartment above a new garage at 504 Columbia Ave.
The council also will consider awarding an engineering contract for Phase I design of the Skye Park pedestrian bridge to Thomas Dean & Hoskins Engineers for $15,310.
Both the work session and regular council meeting will be held at Whitefish City Hall.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.