Car dealership expansion, housing proposal on agenda

A proposal to expand the Don K Chrysler dealership along U.S. 93, as well as a major change to the city's affordable-housing program that was weakened by a new state law, are among the items on a busy Whitefish Planning Board agenda for Thursday.

Prior to its formal meeting, the board will hold an open house and work session on the city's Highway 93 South Corridor Plan, which has been in the works for about three years. Once finalized, it will set goals related to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, land use and the environment over the next 10 years. The plan covers the area along Baker and Spokane avenues, from Sixth Street in the downtown area to about 2 miles south of Montana 40.

The open house, which aims to educate the public and gather feedback on the corridor plan, will begin at 5 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall. The Planning Board will start its work session at 6 p.m. followed by public hearings on several proposals.

Don "K" Kaltschmidt, through his Eagle Enterprises LLC, is seeking a conditional-use permit to expand the Chrysler dealership at 6219 U.S. 93 S. and connect the building to the dealership's body shop, which sits to the north. The proposed additions would add 7,800 square feet, bringing the total footprint of the connected buildings to nearly 52,800 square feet.

It's the third proposed expansion of the car dealership in the past two years. The Whitefish City Council approved a 6,800-square-foot addition to the dealership's service area in 2019.

City staff recommended requiring Don K to install a sidewalk, street lights and trees along Shiloh Avenue, a dead-end street that serves the car dealership, to "allow for a safer pedestrian environment on Shiloh Avenue for Don K employees and the general public."

THE PLANNING Board also will consider a proposal to amend the city's Legacy Homes Program, which required developers of certain subdivisions, multifamily housing projects and mixed-use developments to keep a portion of the new units affordable for the local workforce by using deed restrictions to limit prices.

In April, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 259, which prohibits cities from requiring developers to dedicate land or pay fees for inclusionary zoning programs, even if the developers receive more favorable building conditions in return. The bill, which passed both the chambers of the Republican-controlled Legislature on near-party-line votes, was backed by building and real estate industry groups and opposed by city leaders who said it strips them of local decision-making authority.

"The bill rendered the Legacy Homes Program unenforceable as written, thus the city can no longer require developers to deed-restrict portions of new subdivisions and multifamily projects for long-term affordability, nor can it require land donations or cash-in-lieu fees," city staff wrote in a report to the Planning Board. "Staff is proposing to amend the program into a voluntary one with reduced eligibility requirements to receive the incentives."

The board also will consider a request from Maureen Casey for a conditional-use permit to build a second house on a 15-acre lot at 350 Armory Road, and a proposal to rezone a 15-acre residential parcel of land at 1625 U.S. 93 W. that was recently annexed into the city. The move would replace the county zoning classification with a classification under the city's zoning system, with the only difference being a larger mandatory front yard setback.

SEPARATELY, THE Flathead County Planning Board will meet Wednesday to consider one agenda item — a request from multiple property owners to rezone more than 55 acres just east of Whitefish along Armory and Voerman roads.

Brett Miller, Sonia Frank, Thomas and Victoria Hoover, Mark and Taunja Wagner, and the Diana Woods Eisner Trust are seeking to rezone six parcels from "suburban agricultural" with 10-acre minimum lot sizes to "residential" with 2.5-acre minimum lot sizes. The change could allow the land to be split into approximately 22 parcels if the owners apply to create a subdivision at a later date.

The county Planning Board will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the second-floor conference room of the South Campus Building at 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell. The public can attend both the city and county planning board meetings in person or participate remotely by video.

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.