Corridor study eyed for Whitefish highway strip

Property owners along the U.S. 93 strip that slices through the two-mile planning “doughnut” south of Whitefish want more zoning flexibility and have hired a consultant to shepherd a corridor study for the area.

Dave DeGrandpre of Land Solutions in Charlo presented the idea of a corridor study to the Flathead County commissioners on Monday and has been talking with Whitefish planning officials for years about the prospect of such a study.

Most of the corridor is zoned suburban agricultural with a five-acre minimum lot size, which limits commercial development. There are several businesses along the highway beyond Whitefish’s southern city limit, but most are nonconforming or conditional uses.

“Landowners want flexibility about they can do with their property,” DeGrandpre told the commissioners. “We’re trying to find a balance.”

The commissioners didn’t discuss or take action on DeGrandpre’s proposal. The city of Whitefish also hasn’t acted on it.

The reason?

The Whitefish doughnut litigation is awaiting a court decision about whether the county or city has planning control of the two-mile ring around the city, and that includes the U.S. 93 South strip. Until the lawsuit is settled — and that could take up to two years if a decision is appealed to the state Supreme Court — doughnut property owners are in a kind of planning limbo. 

The city is instead focusing on the U.S. 93 West corridor where the state already has done considerable study in preparation for rebuilding that corridor.

Whitefish Planning Director Dave Taylor said the current SAG-5 zoning along the southern highway isn’t a city zone, though the city still at this point administers zoning in that area. The county doesn’t have business service district zoning, an option for that area, and until the litigation is settled the City Council has taken a wait-and-see approach.

DeGrandpre maintained, though, that the timing could be right for a corridor study because it would take at least a year to complete, plus several more months to wind through the planning process. By doing it now, it would be ready once the doughnut litigation is settled.

He’s planning a couple of neighborhood meetings next month to gauge landowner interest and explain the benefits of a corridor study.

Whitefish growth policies historically have discouraged commercial growth along highway corridors, largely to retain a strong downtown city core.

Taylor said the city “won’t want to see full-on commercial” for U.S. 93 South, considered the primary entrance to Whitefish.

DeGrandpre acknowledged the city’s stand. “Whitefish is concerned about an attractive core,” he said.

Ultimately a growth policy amendment would be needed to change zoning on the highway strip. And in an ideal world both the county and city would agree on what kind of zoning should be used in that area.

“We would like to get away from an adversarial mindset,” DeGrandpre said. “Everyone has legitimate viewpoints. There has to be a balance.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.