City council looks at planning priorities

List includes downtown, vacation rentals, a 'new philosophy' and trees

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The city's growth policy and its Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) are completed, and construction has slowed down some in the Whitefish area, but that doesn't mean city planners are sitting idle. And sitting on the back burner is a long list of planning projects needing attention.

"Despite the slowdown in building, we're really busy, so we don't have a ton of time to deal with all of these," City planning director David Taylor told the Whitefish City-County Planning Board May 15.

Taylor noted that his staff had seen about 40 preliminary CAO applications. He said the $50 fee doesn't cover the time spent by staff to complete the applications, which could be several hours per application.

On June 2, Taylor presented a list of 16 code-change and long-range planning priorities to the Whitefish City Council for their approval. Some of the items on the list were already on the council's goal list.

Councilor Nick Palmer suggested making an update of the Critical Areas Ordinance the number one priority and bringing each planning suggestion forward one-by-one depending upon money available in the budget.

Palmer's motion died for lack of a second, and the council chose to take a closer look at the list during a June 16 work session. Among the priorities:

? At the top is revising the city's subdivision regulations, which currently do not comply with state standards that were revised in 2005. Critical areas and mandatory affordable housing — a council goal — could be added at that time, Taylor said. Time and consultant costs could be four months and up to $30,000.

? Implementing zoning and architectural amendments for the Downtown Master Plan was next on the list. That could include requiring retail-only on the ground floor along Central Avenue, reviewing building heights, amending the sign code and protecting historical values. Time: 3-4 months.

Taylor's suggestion to conduct a baseline study of older buildings for historic preservation drew comments from mayor Mike Jenson.

"We need to define 'historic' for Whitefish," Jenson said. "Nothing here qualifies as 'quality.' What we have here are rail town shanties, with some built of railroad ties."

? Updating the CAO for clarification and including exemptions for planned-unit developments (PUDs) could take 1-2 months. Taylor said the city needs a comprehensive grading permit that would be required before excavation can begin.

"People could obliterate a critical area before anyone submits a plan at all," he said.

? Creating new zoning designations for light industrial, small agricultural parcels, and public lands and institutions could take 2-3 months.

? A proposal brought by Realtor Phyllis Sprunger would allow professional offices along Baker Avenue south of the Whitefish River bridge where property is currently zoned residential. That could mean rezoning or a conditional-use permit.

? A tree retention and landscape ordinance revision could take 3-4 months. An urban forestry management plan could take another 3-4 months to complete.

City planner Wendy Compton-Ring said the landscape chapter in the code book is "not user-friendly" and "needs a complete revamp" to ensure that landscaping requirements are really met.

Councilor Nancy Woodruff noted that a developer could come in, cut down all the mature trees and replace them with small trees.

Taylor said a tree retention ordinance could be controversial, and Woodruff noted that the city's tree committee has opposed such an ordinance for single-family homes.

Jenson expressed concern about homeowners being forced to spend several months going through city review. He said he just spent $3,000 on tree work at his home and would have been "incensed" if he had been forced to wait.

? Amending the code to allow "cottage" housing could be a way to provide affordable housing, Taylor said, but Jenson wasn't convinced.

"We gave density bonuses in the past and we didn't get affordable housing," he said.

Jenson said he doubted "cottage" housing could be built for $200,000 apiece, and he expressed concern about impacts to "established neighborhoods."

? Revising the city's zoning regulations from the standard "Euclidean" approach to character-based zoning, as the growth policy calls for, could take six months and cost $60,000 in consulting fees.

"This is a fairly major undertaking that will involve a major re-write of our zoning code and a different planning philosophy approach," Taylor said.

Woodruff said the new zoning approach was seen during the growth policy process as a tool to prevent existing homes from being knocked down and to prevent overly large homes from being built in older neighborhoods.

Councilor Turner Askew, however, wanted more clarification, suggesting it could "open up a can of worms." Woodruff said zoning that didn't match land uses "is a can of worms," and Jenson noted that "it's a can of worms we're used to."

? Corridor plans for U.S. Highway 93 south and west, Highway 40 and Wisconsin Avenue are four separate items requiring 3-5 months and up to $30,000 in consulting fees apiece.

With the status of the city's "doughnut" zoning jurisdiction held up in court, Jenson noted that only the Wisconsin Avenue corridor falls within the city limits, and he wanted that plan moved up in priority.

"There's already de facto planning taking place there," he said, referring to developments proposed by Tom LaChance and Dan Weinberg.

? Regulation of vacation rentals is addressed fairly well in the code book, Taylor said. The problem is enforcement.

"One solution to the current issue is for the city council to adopt an ordinance making it illegal to advertise vacation rentals in a zone where it is not allowed, making enforcement easier," he said. "Creating citations for zoning enforcement would also help considerably, not just for vacation rentals, saving time and costs."

Phelps said a citation system could be used in other areas, such as lakeshore violations. The system would turn criminal cases into civil suits with no need for a jury trial. Violators would not fight as hard, he said, meaning there would be less litigation.

? Conflicts between the growth policy and the new Business Service District for rural areas need to be ironed out. Councilors want corridor plans in place to protect the city's gateways from strip development.

? Woodruff suggesting moving ahead with neighborhood plans, particularly for Karrow Avenue, where residents were promised a plan long ago.

"The next time a project comes up there, they'll scream bloody murder," she said.

? To address the high cost of all these planning needs, Jenson suggested hiring a temporary planner rather than consultants. Compton-Ring said a temporary planner could handle regular planning requests while she and Taylor could concentrate on the big planning projects.

? Taylor said preventing noise was more of a police matter than a planning issue. The city could perhaps set standards for air conditioning units in new construction, but zoning couldn't prevent noise from barking dogs or loud stereos.

Palmer said he wanted to see zoning regulations on noise from air conditioning units made retroactive, comparing it to seat belt laws.