Doughnut and downtown top stories

While the global story of the year is clearly the Wall Street meltdown, the credit crisis and the recession, the story that occupied the pages of the Whitefish Pilot from Jan. 17 right up to Christmas Eve was the dispute over control of Whitefish’s planning and zoning “doughnut” area.

The second-ranked story involves the heart of Whitefish. Debate over how the city’s Downtown Master Plan will be implemented ran the gamut from parking garages and streetscaping to building heights and storefront design.

Other top stories include the historical 2008 general election, the high school bond election and changing of the guard in city government.

But clearly, the economic downturn is the most important story right now. Officials at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. smelter recently announced plans to shut down completely in February. Other major layoffs in the Flathead have already been announced at Semitool Inc., Goose Bay construction company and Plum Creek Timber Co.

In November, the Flathead County unemployment rate was 7.3 percent, compared to 4.9 percent for the state and 6.7 percent for the U.S. With so much of the valley’s economy dependent on construction, and the housing market crippled by the credit crisis, the economy could easily become the top story in 2009.

The “doughnut”

With the Whitefish growth policy completed and a critical areas ordinance on the horizon, angry property owners within the city’s extraterritorial planning jurisdiction were clamoring for protection from what they perceived as regulation without representation, the Pilot reported Jan. 17.

To address the representation issue, mayor Mike Jenson suggested a township form of government, and city attorney John Phelps cited a 1985 statute providing for the creation of “multi-jurisdictional service districts.”

But the county wasn’t interested. Commissioner Gary Hall, who was facing re-election, said he was getting phone calls everyday from angry “doughnut” landowners who claimed they were losing property values.

The commissioners voted March 13 to rescind the interlocal agreement between the city and the county that created the two-mile planning and zoning area. Four days later, the Whitefish City Council voted 5-1 to sue the county.

Councilor John Muhlfeld said the decision was “cut and dry” because the interlocal agreement clearly states that both sides must agree to terminate it.

Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis didn’t see it that way. On May 1, she denied the city’s petition for a preliminary injunction. The city filed an appeal shortly afterwards.

While county planners initiated steps to take responsibility for the area, including rezoning land with city designations, the city council and the Whitefish City-County Planning Board continued work as if nothing had changed — including loosening up the controversial critical areas ordinance into something called “CAO Lite.”

The public learned about the Montana Supreme Court’s reversal of Curtis’ order on Christmas Eve. At this point, it looks like the city can retain authority over the “doughnut” until a final ruling is made, but the issue could get mired in court for a year or more.

Designing downtown

Equally important to Whitefish as its hinterlands is its downtown core. A Downtown Master Plan that cost the city and the Heart of Whitefish downtown merchants association about $300,000 called for streetscaping on Central Avenue and a three-level parking garage at Second Street and Spokane Avenue.

While the former proved less contentious, the garage project drew strong criticism for its design and its cost. At one point, the structure was projected to cost $6.6 million.

One thing was certain — if Central Avenue was going to be torn up one block at a time during reconstruction, then additional parking was needed soon. By November, a plan evolved and met with council approval.

The plan called for a surface-only parking lot at the Second and Spokane site and a future surface-parking lot behind the library, where a new city hall will eventually be built.

The council also struggled with building heights. International Capital Partners’ The Offices At Cobblestone project, at the former Truby’s restaurant site, called for a four-story building that would top out at 45 feet, the maximum allowed by the zoning.

The city’s Architec-tural Design Standards said buildings on Central Avenue were historically one and two stories, and that new buildings should match existing height and mass, but the downtown merchants convinced the council otherwise. On Oct. 6, the council set new height limits — 35 feet high and two stories.

Historic election

History was made Nov. 4 as Barack Obama became the first African-American to win a presidential election in the U.S. The Democrats mounted a strong Montana offensive, with Obama and his wife Michelle, Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill, and Joe Biden all appearing in the state.

Locally, former sheriff Jim Dupont, running on a property rights over regulation platform, beat Gary Hall in the primary and went on to win the county commissioner race. Whitefish native Republican Ryan Zinke won the Senate District 2 race, and Democrat Mike Jopek was returned to the state House.

While Democrats swept the statewide races and retained control over the State Land Board, the Republicans captured the state Senate. The House is tied 50-50.

High school bond

Whitefish area voters turned down a $21.5 million high school bond by 2,551-1,796 in a mail-in election that ended in April.

 The proposed bond was the result of several years of planning by teachers, school administrators, architects and citizen committees.

While proponents pointed to crowded classrooms with dangerous or inadequate electrical and heating equipment, opponents said the price tag was just too high.

Changing of the guard

City manager Gary Marks announced his resignation on May 27 after nine years at the job. He had a position lined up as city administrator in Ketchum, Idaho.

Dennis Taylor was hired as interim city manager, and Chuck Stearns arrived shortly after Thanksgiving to take over the top job. With more than 20 years of public-service experience, Stearns lived in Whitefish in the early 1980s.

Dan Keyes, who served as parks and recreation director since 2000, left Jan. 8. He was replaced April 28 by Karl Cozad, of Pullman, Wash. Cozad’s experience with trail building was considered a plus.

Citing health concerns, Dave Sipe announced his retirement as fire chief on July 3. He joined as a volunteer in 1978 and had been chief since 1995. Fire marshal Doug Loy filled in until Thomas Kennelly took over as chief on Nov. 3. Kennelly, who came from Conifer, Colo., is also a CPA.

Other top stories

Among other stories that filled the Pilot’s pages and stimulated conversation were new drug-testing policies in Whitefish’s public schools, enforcing the city’s sign ordinance at the Mrs. Spoonovers restaurant, and revising regulations to allow residents to have five hens as pets.

Whitefish natives like to brag up their lengthy personal history, but simple residency can also be a big deal. Rick Blake and the political action committee Common Sense in White-fish Government filed a lawsuit to stop John Muhlfeld from being seated on the city council. On Jan. 4, Judge Curtis ruled Muhlfeld was a resident.

About a month later, Flathead County District Court Judge Ted Lympus ruled that Martin McGrew was not a resident. He had been chosen by the council after he and Turner Askew tied 696-696 for third place in the 2007 city council election. Askew ended up with the council seat.

While building in general has slowed down, several important projects took shape in Whitefish — a new Walgreens and remodeled Safeway, both showcase stores, and four new bike paths, including one with a footbridge over the Whitefish River.