Wyoming auto group plans expansion in Whitefish

A Wyoming-based automotive group has plans to open an auto sales and service business in the former DePratu Ford VW building in Whitefish, and hopes to be up and running by mid-July.

Wolf Auto is seeking a conditional-use permit to operate in the now-vacant building at 6331 U.S. 93 S. that had been used as a car dealership for about 30 years, first as the longtime DePratu dealership and later for a time as Whitefish Ford VW. The building has been vacant for several years.

The Whitefish Planning Board will hold a public hearing to consider the request at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at Whitefish City Hall.

Wolf Auto Group, a limited liability company, operates auto centers in Buffalo and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Phil Wolf, who started the business in 1969, said expanding to Whitefish is a natural fit for the independent company that is operated by the Wolf family.

“We’re used to being in resort areas, and being in a resort community is something we like,” Wolf said.

Wolf Auto Group sells all makes and models, though the “end game,” Wolf said, eventually would be bringing in a brand to the Whitefish operations such as Jaguar or Land Rover.

Wolf said the Whitefish center would employ about a half-dozen employees at first, with staff expansion once a franchise is added.

The Whitefish Planning Office is recommending approval of the conditional-use permit. The Whitefish City Council will hold a public hearing and make a final decision at its July 6 meeting.

IN OTHER business, the board will hold public hearings on these proposals:

• Karen Bunker is requesting preliminary-plat approval of a four-lot subdivision, Fulkerson Homestead, at the southwest corner of Sawtooth Drive and O’Brien Avenue.

• Dan Nelson is requesting preliminary-plat approval of a four-lot subdivision called 735 Wisconsin Avenue.

• Heather Burnham is asking for a conditional-use permit to convert an existing accessory structure into a guesthouse at 810 Colorado Ave.

• Sarah Canepa and Kalispell Avenue Neighbors propose to rezone three blocks of the west side of Kalispell Avenue between Third and Sixth streets east from high density multifamily to two-family residential zoning.

The board also will get a status update on the Highway 93 South Corridor Plan.