Whitefish to consider downtown plan update

A proposed update of the Whitefish Downtown Business District Master Plan will be discussed in a Whitefish City Council work session tonight before a public hearing and vote on the amended plan is taken later in the evening.

Portland consultants George Crandall and Don Arambula will be on hand to talk about the updated plan during the work session that runs from 5:30 to 6:55 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.

Public comments will be accepted during the work session as well as the public hearing that is the last of four hearings scheduled tonight.

The Crandall Arambula consulting firm drafted the original 2005 downtown plan. The update builds on downtown development that stimulated more than $9 million of private investment since the plan was adopted 10 years ago.

Building on a streetscape project that reconstructed and beautified Central Avenue and connecting streets, the revised plan includes components for future growth such as a downtown retail loop, a plaza-like multipurpose space near the train depot, more parking facilities, trails and downtown connectivity.

In other business, the council will hold a public hearing on the proposed Whitefish Crossing 60-unit apartment project on U.S. 93. Developers Jeff Badelt and Sean Averill have revised the plan since initially presenting it for approval last October.

The council will hold a hearing and consider an application from Whitefish Theatre Co. for a conditional-use permit to expand the O’Shaughnessy Center.

A conditional-use permit request from C.J. Fullhouse for a guest house at 1199 W. Seventh St. will be considered.

The council will vote on a resolution in support of establishing a countywide 911 special district through a resolution of the Flathead County commissioners. The county’s three incorporated cities are asking the commissioners to approve a resolution to create the district.

This is a second attempt to establish an ongoing funding mechanism for the 911 dispatch center after a ballot initiative for the special district failed by 10 votes in the 2014 general election.

The work session and regular council meeting will be held at Whitefish City Hall.