Affordable housing project goes before Whitefish Council
The city of Whitefish's snow lot at the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish City Council on Monday will consider an affordable housing project with 22 townhouses proposed for the city’s former snow lot property.
The Whitefish Housing Authority is requesting a preliminary plat with a planned unit development for the project at the corner of Railway Street and Columbia Avenue. The project would provide 100% deed-restricted ownership units.
City Council meets at 7:10 p.m. at City Hall, 418 E. Second St.
WHA is proposing to construct an 11-lot subdivision with five lots fronting Railway Street and six lots along the north section of the property line. The property, known as the snow lot because the city previously stored snow there, is 1.64 acres in size.
The project, now called Depot Park Townhomes, as proposed features two-bedroom units for households at 80-120% of area median income. The actual unit pricing will be determined at a later date.
The project was identified as a priority in the 2017 Whitefish Strategic Housing Plan.
Primary vehicle access to the site will be off Columbia Avenue.
The project is requesting several deviations from the development standards for the lot, which is zoned WR-4, as part of providing affordable housing.
WHA is seeking lots sized between about 2,600 square feet and 3,000 square feet, while the standard is 7,000 square feet.
They are also looking for lot widths of 44 to 48 feet, while 50 feet is the standard. Lot coverage is requested at 51% rather than the 40% standard. The project is also seeking smaller setbacks.
The parking is requested to be at 1.45 spaces per unit rather than the standard two spaces per unit.
The planning department is recommending approval of the project with 18 conditions.
DURING A work session at 6 p.m., Council will hold a discussion with Flathead Basin Commission regarding the commission’s work related to septic leachate and models that show high risk areas in the Flathead.
The commission in 2019 adopted a strategic plan that focused on addressing non-point source pollution issues impacting water quality in the basin with septic leachate as one that has been well-documented in the basin dating back to the 1970s.
Subsequently, the commission initiated a study with the goal of modeling the existing risk from current septic systems and developing a tool to predict the effectiveness of future septic systems across the basin.
Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.