Corridor plan, lake vendors top Whitefish agenda
Public hearings about commercial vendors on Whitefish Lake and a corridor plan for U.S. 93 West top a full agenda tonight for the Whitefish City Council.
The council will consider a resolution of intent for the U.S. 93 corridor plan. A decision on the proposed plan was put on hold after the council suggested several changes during its April 20 meeting.
Bed and breakfast inns are proposed now as conditional rather than permitted uses, and grocery stores up to 4,000 square feet would be added as a conditional use. Coffee and sandwich shops are being proposed, but sandwich shops could be no bigger than 2,000 square feet. Nursing homes and other care facilities are being proposed as conditional uses.
In an unusual stipulation that reflects the town’s railroad heritage, private railway cars with living accommodations would be allowed to park on rail lines for up to 30 days in a calendar year, but couldn’t be used for short-term rentals in the proposed industrial transitional district.
All new structures with a building footprint of 5,000 square feet or more, including additions to existing buildings that pushes the square footage to 5,000 square feet, would require a conditional-use permit.
An appendix to the corridor plan outlines new sample zoning districts for the Idaho Timber site and an section of the corridor called “Area B,” which adjoins the Idaho Timber property on the north side of U.S. 93 West, from the Whitefish River west to Ramsey Avenue.
The draft zoning districts will need to come back through the Planning Board and council for further refinement before they’re adopted into zoning regulations.
The focus of the corridor plan is to respect existing land uses and zoning while allowing for the transition to future land uses as the community grows. It aims to preserve various elements of historic character in future land use while providing a vision for future growth, according to the plan prepared by WGM Group and Sitescape Associates.
It includes the area of U.S. 93 West from the Whitefish River to the Mountainside Drive area.
The proposed ordinance requiring vendors to have special permits to sell any goods, food or services on Whitefish Lake within 200 feet of City Beach has been in the works for a while, too.
Two work sessions were held last year to deal with issues such as launching and permitting, congestion and safety, commercial vending on the water and around City Beach, zoning and parking.
The council also is still working on Iron Horse Homeowners Association’s proposal to remove an existing guard house and replace it with a welcome center in a landscaped median on Iron Horse Drive. A public hearing held in February was tabled until April 6, and then was continued a second time to allow Iron Horse additional time to refine its proposal regarding traffic calming measures and architectural design of the welcome center.
A work session from 5 to 6 p.m. will include a progress report from the Local Government Study Commission.
The work session and regular meeting both will be held at City Hall.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.