Decision expected on Whitefish resort housing project
The Whitefish City Council is expected to vote Tuesday, Jan. 16, on a 102-unit resort housing development planned on Wisconsin Avenue.
The council last month postponed action and continued a public hearing to allow the developer to provide additional information about traffic impacts as they relate to the proposed resort residential-type development.
Wisconsin Development Partners is asking for a conditional-use permit to develop 66 condominium cabins and 36 multifamily condo units at 700 and 900 Wisconsin Ave.
The lack of a left-hand turn lane on Wisconsin Avenue, the extension of East Marina Crest Lane, traffic impacts on Dakota Avenue and emergency access were key concerns voiced during a Dec. 4 public hearing.
An updated site plan removes a secondary emergency access to the south and creates a loop driveway around the multifamily condos. Both accesses are off East Marina Crest Lane. The applicant also is now proposing two 18-plexes instead of three 12-plexes for the multifamily condo units. The density remains the same but the buildings are larger.
The updated site plan further shows a dedication of 16 feet for future right-of-way expansion along the frontage of the property. With the 16-foot dedication there will be a total of 76 feet of right of way along the frontage, which would give the state enough right of way to develop a three-lane road section in the future.
Because of the complexities associated with a left-hand turn lane, it can’t be installed at this time, according to the city manager’s staff report to the council. The state Department of Transportation would need to review the Wisconsin Avenue corridor to determine future improvements.
East Marina Crest Lane will not be extended with this project, the report noted. The city will get a portion of the road built to city standards and a portion of the road will be dedicated right of way to the western edge of the property.
Other public hearings on the council agenda include:
- A conditional-use permit request from Eighth Street LLC to convert an existing building into a professional office and develop a triplex at 144 W. Second St. The site is partially developed with a former hair salon that has been vacant for several years.
- A proposed ordinance rezoning 0.4 acres of land east of 325 Haugen Heights Road from unzoned to estate residential zoning.
- A resolution indicating the city’s intention to adopt amendments to the Whitefish downtown master plan as an amendment to the 2007 Whitefish growth policy. The resolution changes the future land-use designation of the city’s snow lot at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Railway Street from public parking to multifamily residential use, and changes the land use on a parcel at the corner of O’Brien Avenue and Second Street from public parking to commercial use.
At 5:45 p.m. Tuesday the council will hold a work session to review the draft extension of services plan/urban growth boundary, and at 6:30 p.m. will discuss the initiation of the Highway 93 South Corridor Plan.
The work session and regular meeting, which begins at 7:10 p.m. will be held at Whitefish City Hall.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.