We need housing solutions for all economic backgrounds
“Our lives begin to end when we become silent about the things that matter” is what Carol Atkinson said on Jan. 18 to drum up support from Whitefish City Council to oppose the passage of the Mountain Gateway housing proposal on Big Mountain Road. I almost fell out of my chair as she attempted to use the words of the Black Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. I was floored that she would use an MLK quote to argue against a much-needed development that would not only provide 80 affordable units but also 238 market-rate long term rental units.
The origin of the quote is a paraphrase from the speech Dr. King gave, following the violence of Bloody Sunday. The use of this quote was not only tone-deaf and out of context, it also showed me how out of touch the opposition is in regards to our current housing crisis and the history of housing in our country.
The United States has a dark history of using specific zoning laws, regulations, and HOA’s to keep out people with lower incomes and people of color out of neighborhoods and communities deemed desirable. Starting in the 1950’s Martin Luther King Jr. began advocating for equal rights and social justice. His “open housing” activism in Chicago was instrumental to the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
It is ironic that someone would use the quote of a social justice activist as an argument for continuing to restrict housing available in Whitefish. Rental costs and the cost to purchase a home continues to soar and the stock of available long-term rentals declines, it is our responsibility to come up with housing solutions that allow folks of all economic backgrounds to be able to rent and own homes within our community.
The opposition to this development has deep pockets, even going so far as to hire multiple lawyers and experts to fight this development. They are well organized and supported by many community members. The opposition continues to say they care about affordable housing, but just not here. They say they understand the housing crisis and labor shortage that we are facing, but do not agree with a development that could provide over 318 units of housing.
The opposition says that they understand the importance of having public-private partnerships to create affordable housing, but 8.8 acres of highly valuable land donated to affordable housing is apparently not the right type of public-private partnership.
The opposition has been highly effective at getting its message out to the public. Their messaging portrays that a development like this would be bad for everyone, even those that might benefit from it. Invoking a fear of more traffic and the risk of wildfires, which Whitefish Fire Chief Page did an excellent job debunking, has been a very effective tactic. They were able to get large swaths of diverse residents and second homeowners alike to come out in opposition.
I was one of only five people who spoke publicly in support of the Mountain Gateway at the Whitefish City Council meeting. I am not affluent, nor do I have a lot of time or a network of folks behind me to help get my message out to the public at large. I am a fifth-generation Whitefish resident and I have a deep passion for this community. I come from the generation and financial class whose community is drastically shrinking because Whitefish and the homes within it have become commodities and invested in like it is the stock market.
When folks complain that housing like Mountain Gateway will change the character of our community and degrade Whitefish as we know it, I argue the exact opposite. We can not keep pushing the problem down the road and then be surprised when middle and lower-class folks can no longer inhabit the very places where they work and have built their lives.
I encourage community members to do their own deep dive into how building denser and infill housing within walking and biking distance of town helps build and maintain a stronger diverse community.
Mallory Phillips lives in Whitefish.