Whitefish Council looks to add new zoning district

Whitefish City Council on Monday is set to vote on adding a new zoning district to its code that would apply to properties at the south end of the city.

The business transitional zone is called for in the city’s Highway 93 South Corridor Plan for newly annexed commercial properties in the area south of Montana 40. The zone is part of the plan's goal of ensuring that properties at the town’s entrance are consistent with the community’s vision for the area.

City Council meets at 7:10 p.m. at City Hall, 418 E Second St.

The WB-T zone is intended to be a transitional district between the business service district zoning that is found just south of the county B-4 zoning on U.S. 93 and the WB-2 secondary business zoning just adjacent to it inside city limits. The zone is intended to be a mixed-use zoning with higher-density residential uses allowed.

Council has been off and on working through crafting the language for the zone since March. At Council’s direction, certain uses were removed, including building supply outlets, building-related uses and warehousing. Also removed as conditional uses were automotive sales and rentals, hotels and motels, and machinery and small equipment sales and rentals.

The city has received recent annexation inquiries from potential developers looking at properties at or south of Montana 40 currently in the county.

COUNCIL WILL also vote on a request from MH Legacy, LLC for a conditional use permit to construct a multifamily and commercial mixed-use building with four dwelling units at 220 Second Street East. The property currently contains a tattoo parlor.

The proposal calls for the construction of a mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground floor as well as four residential units above, on the second and third floors.

The establishment of an employee parking permit program also is on the agenda. A pilot parking program was first implemented to run in the summer of 2021 and allowed employees to purchase — for $20 per month — a permit that allowed for all-day parking at certain lots downtown and in the parking structure.

The city’s parking committee is asking that the program become permanent and increase the number of available permits from 85 to 100. Permits would be valid all year round and on Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

IN PLANNING for projects, Council will decide whether to move forward with plans to construct a section of trail to connect the city’s path along the Whitefish River. Work would include surveying and preliminary engineering.

A conceptual design calls for an elevated path that relies upon helical piers to extend the 10-foot path over the Whitefish River while using the 6-foot easement the city holds on the property owned by the Riverbend Condominium Homeowners’ Association. The section is a 563-foot stretch of riverbank north of Veterans Bridge on U.S. 93 along the east bank of the river.

The trail currently stops just past the Second Street bridge where steps lead upward to Miles Avenue and trail users have to follow the street before connecting back to the trail.

City plans have long called for connecting the sections of trail to run continuously along the river.

Council also is being asked to approve Karrow Avenue as the next project to be reconstructed with resort tax funds and go out for requests for proposals for engineering on the project.

Construction is anticipated to include road, storm sewer and pedestrian improvements for Karrow Avenue, from West Second Street to West Seventh Street.

Finally, Council will consider approving TischlerBise to review and update the city’s impact fee study. The city is required to perform the update every five years. The proposed cost for the update of the study is about $70,000.

Council will vote on an ordinance continuing the city’s sustainable tourism management plan committee.

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.