Whitefish mulls changes to secondary business zone
Concerned about the potential proliferation of hotels in the city’s secondary business zone, the Whitefish City Council tonight will discuss possible changes to conditional-use permit standards in that zone.
Currently, hotels, motels and other hospitality uses are a permitted use in the WB-2 zone; only architectural review and a building permit are required before construction. In that zone, buildings 15,000 square feet and over or expansions to existing buildings that put a building over 15,000 square feet require a conditional-use permit.
The business zone is intended to provide for larger-scale retail stores and services that need large display or parking areas. The district depends on proximity to highways, which as the U.S. 93 South corridor, or arterial streets located in business corridors.
The request for council discussion on the matter stems from the recent approval of a subdivision on U.S. 93 South because it appeared as though one lot is being designed for a hotel in the 13,000-square-foot range.
For reference, some of the buildings with the largest square footage in the WB-2 zone include The Wave, at 43,482 square feet; Safeway at 52,587 square feet; and the Pin and Cue at 20,924 square feet, according to a report from Planning Director Dave Taylor.
Among the lodging facilities in that zone, Hampton Inn is 15,880 square feet, Marriott is at 16,565, Cheap Sleep Motel is 10,431 and Big Mountain Lodge is 17,995 square feet, according to Taylor’s report.
“If the concern is primarily with hotels and their proliferation and impacts, hotels and motels could be moved” from permitted uses and changed to conditional uses, with a zoning text amendment, the report stated.
“Requiring a conditional use for hotels and motels can be justified due to specific impacts from hotels that could necessitate additional review,” Taylor said. “The large number of rooms puts pressure on city services, including our limited water capacity. Commercial hotels require large areas for building footprints and parking lots, which can take up valuable commercial property that could be used for mixed-use, multi-family, manufacturing, or other businesses that support local residents.
“Hotels also impact affordable housing by requiring a large number of service workers who might struggle to afford to live locally,” he said.
The current draft of the Highway 93 South Corridor Plan calls for light assembly and light manufacturing to be moved from conditional to permitted uses to spur more businesses providing higher-paying jobs, Taylor noted.
Also, the council recently adopted new zoning performance standards that provide additional design review for all new non-residential construction “so new uses other than hotels will already be subject to more stringent reviews.”
A second option the council could consider is reducing the conditional-use permit threshold from 15,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. “That would allow the city council to better dictate how new development meets the goals and objectives of the city and any adopted long-range plans,” Taylor stated in his report.
A third option would be to have the corridor plan steering committee review and address the issue with a recommendation in the corridor plan.
In other business, the council will hold three public hearings, including Whitefish Christian Academy’s request for a conditional-use permit to add onto the existing school at 820 Ashar Avenue.
Matt Danford is asking for a conditional-use permit to construct an accessory apartment at 1047 Columbia Ave. Courtland Chelmo is asking for a conditional-use permit to construct an accessory apartment at 725 Riverside Ave.
During a work session from 5:30 to 7 p.m. the council will review the processes and procedures manual for the Whitefish Housing Authority Legacy Homes program implementation plan.
The regular council meeting begins at 7:10 p.m.; both the work session and meeting are at Whitefish City Hall.
News Editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.