Cul de sac raises city road-ownership issues
Plans for a cul de sac on a five-lot subdivision along State Park Road created lively discussion during the Dec. 17 Whitefish City-County Planning Board meeting.
Rocky Mountain Bank, which took over the Lion Cub Lane project after the 2005 preliminary plat brought by a previous owner had expired, recently built the cul de sac according to city standards.
According to the original plat, the street would be publicly owned and maintained. The city's Public Works Department, however, decided that the street should be privately owned and maintained in the new plat.
When several board members asked why, city planner Wendy Compton-Ring said public works director John Wilson had decided the project was too small to justify public expense. She also noted that the city budget has changed significantly since 2005.
Board member Ken Stein agreed that it's hard for the city to take on more developments at this time. If Lion Cub Lane was public, the homeowners would end up calling the city for snow plowing and get no response for days. It would be better just to hire someone, he said.
"I pay taxes and I pay for plowing," he said.
Board member Scott Sorensen noted that if only one lot was sold, a single homeowner would have to pay for maintaining the entire street alone. He and other board members asked whether publicly-owned cul de sacs exist elsewhere in the city.
City projects engineer Karin Hilding said she didn't know of any new city policy to avoid taking ownership of new streets, but she noted that city budget problems exist.
Peter Strelinger, representing the project, said it was difficult for a bank to take over road maintenance. Pointing to other public cul de sacs in the city, he asked the board to strike the public works department's requested language in order to maintain "consistency."
The plat request, with two amendments brought by Strelinger, was approved by a 4-3 vote, with Stein, Karen Reeves and Ole Netteberg opposed. The request will go to the city council on Jan. 4.
In other planning board news:
-The nine-member board will have several new members starting next year, as the city and county filled vacant seats.
Zak Anderson was appointed earlier this year by the city council to replace Steve Qunell, who left town. Chris Kelsey was appointed by the council to replace Sorensen, who unintentionally failed to reapply. Greg Gunderson was reappointed by the mayor.
Reeves was reappointed by the county commissioners. Dennis Konopatzke was appointed by the commissioners to replace Kerry Crittenden, who resigned. Ken Meckel returns as the Flathead Conservation District representative.
The board reappointed Stein as their representative on the Whitefish Lake and Lakeshore Committee.
- The city's request to amend city code to allow alternative paving materials for driveways, modify maximum driveway widths in front-yard setbacks and allow access ramps and stairs within required setbacks was unanimously approved. The request will go to the city council on Jan. 19.
The city wanted to give the zoning administrator the flexibility to approve use of pervious paving materials, such as Grasscrete, for overflow parking. This would address both dust and stormwater runoff issues.
Gunderson said he favored letting people try alternative materials to see how well they work, but he expressed concerns that the underlying road base could become saturated and then freeze in winter, causing heaving.
Netteberg said he expected to see "qualified technicians' install the material.
- A request by LaChance Builders Inc. on behalf of Al Foder for a conditional-use permit for a guest house above a detached garage on West Lakeshore Drive was unanimously approved with little debate. The request will go to the city council on Jan. 4.