Rezoning proposed for Idaho Timber site
A proposal to change the zoning of the former Idaho Timber property in Whitefish from industrial to a mixed-use district will be considered by the Whitefish Planning Board during a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 21.
95 Karrow LLC is asking to rezone three parcels where the shuttered Idaho Timber lumber mill was located near the railroad tracks at the north end of Karrow Avenue. The property has existing industrial buildings and hard-surface paving, and is zoned industrial.
The Highway 93 West Corridor Plan approved by the Whitefish City Council two years ago calls for transitional industrial and neighborhood mixed-use zoning to reflect the changing mix of business and residential uses along the highway corridor.
95 Karrow is asking for industrial transitional district zoning (WI-T) and neighborhood mixed-use transitional (WT-3) zoning.
The WI-T zoning is intended for the gradual transition of vacant or underutilized sites that traditionally were used for heavy manufacturing to adaptive, clean industries and business incubators.
The WT-3 zoning is intended for transitional development, including high-density residential, professional offices, light manufacturing and assembly and ancillary services to create a mixed-use environment.
The board will hold public hearings on three additional zone-change requests, all initiated by the city of Whitefish.
The first is a request to rezone a parcel to remove the expired planned-unit development overlay on the project formerly known as Coldwater Basin, and change the zoning to a one-family limited residential district. The property is unaddressed on Big Mountain Road.
The second request is to rezone 12 parcels to removed the expired planned-unit development overlay on the former Lookout Ridge property and rezone it to low-density resort residential and agricultural districts.
The property is located on Big Mountain and Whitefish lookout roads.
The third request is to rezone an annexed parcel at 2385 Mountain Shadows Drive from county one-family residential to city one-family residential zoning.
The board meets at 6 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall, 418 E. Second St. in Whitefish. For more information, visit http://www.cityofwhitefish.org.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.