Where will Whitefish grow? Extension of services plan looks at growth potential

A plan that anticipates the areas where the city of Whitefish likely will grow and require city services will be considered during a Whitefish City Council public hearing on Monday, March 19.

The extension of services plan — an update of a plan adopted in 2009 — looks at areas outside the city limits where growth likely will occur in the next decade. A number of factors go into the projections, such as economic conditions, population trends, physical growth trends, impediments to and stimulants for growth.

Land ownership and the anticipation of owner preferences or need for city services go into determining the boundaries for the new plan, according to the city staff report. Public lands and large parcels owned by private lumber interests to the north were considered, as were subdivisions such as Lion Mountain, where septic system failures would impact Whitefish Lake. Large parcels held in trust between Armory and Voerman roads also have reasonable potential for subdivision development, the report said.

The city contemplated extending the urban growth boundary south of the U.S. 93 and Montana 40 intersection, but backed away from that plan. The 2007 Whitefish growth policy and the South Whitefish Neighborhood Plan set policy that services not be extended south of Montana 40.

“City policy remains that services will not be extended south of the Highway 40 intersection,” the staff report notes.

Proposed changes from the 2009 urban growth boundary include:

- Addition of areas bordering Big Mountain Sewer District will allow infill and efficient annexation adjacent to areas with existing services;

- Addition of Reservoir Road area where water main is already installed, to encompass city water reservoir and water main south of the road to Texas Avenue;

- Addition of residential area on south side of Beaver Bay to avoid isolating the homes there and to encourage connection to city sewer as aging septic systems fail;

- Addition of small private parcel west of Lion Mountain Loop Road adjacent to state land; all surrounding private land is already within the growth boundary

In other business, the council will hold a public hearing on a request by the Reisch Family Partnership for a conditional-use permit to expand the Montana Tap House at 845 Wisconsin Ave.

The long-awaited revamp of planned-unit development zoning regulation amendments is up for a public hearing. The proposed ordinance aims to clarify the maximum average density where a planned-unit development overlays more than one underlying zone, and other related issues. An ad-hoc committee drafted the changes, and the council held public hearings in July and again in September 2017 as revisions were made.

A special session will be held at 5 p.m. to interview applicants for the Highway 93 South Corridor Steering Committee. A work session at 6 p.m. will focus on Whitefish Lake Institute’s review of the fiscal year 2019 budget and an update of the aquatic invasive species maintenance plan.

The regular council meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.

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