Zoning: You can't fight city hall

Thank you neighbors, but we can't fight city hall. My husband and I recently spoke about a zoning issue, first to the Whitefish City-County Planning Board, and on June 1 to the Whitefish City Council asking them to deny a conditional-use permit (CUP) for a professional office space in our neighborhood, the first instance of a professional office in a WR-2 zone.

I am disappointed that the city council didn't appear to seriously consider most of the valid points against the CUP, with a majority of the neighbors opposed to the permit.

The site in question is on the southwest corner of Baker Avenue and Seventh Street — a busy intersection at best. Reasons for asking the town to deny the permit based on the findings of fact included decreasing overall public safety, the narrow 11-foot wide alley-only access to the business (not intended for general traffic circulation according to city code), infiltration of the neighborhood, increased traffic conflicts, degradation of neighborhood character, and decreasing property values. All seem to be compelling reasons as to why this site isn't a good fit for the neighborhood.

Other than the traffic on Seventh Street, our neighborhood is fairly quiet. We all give a friendly nod when we see each other, keep an eye on the happenings of the 'hood, but mostly do our own thing. Until the notice from the city arrived for the conditional-use permit, I have never felt compelled to speak up or out.

The past week prior to the council meeting, I spent days gathering pictures of the 23 professional office spaces currently available to rent in Whitefish, photos of the site-restricted turn to access this office, the congested traffic on Seventh Street, and 30 signatures from our neighborhood of people asking the council to deny the CUP.

I brought my research to the city council only to watch some councilors shift in their chairs and roll their eyes as I presented my packet of mostly photos. Now hurrying, I flipped through my information trying to remember the parts that were most important to my case. Seeing those councilors look so disinterested in the points that I wanted to make really flustered me.

City code states that "the granting of a conditional-use permit is a matter of grace." I know how much information the city council is required to digest each week, but I wish I had been afforded a little more grace — especially when they hadn't invited our neighborhood to the original discussions about the rule changes that now allow these CUPs.

After the public hearing, discussion from the board ensued. Oh wait, they didn't even look at the 30 signatures I brought to the meeting, or the photos of the encroaching bushes, or the traffic. All my work felt like it was for nothing. I felt sick and left the meeting.

The CUP passed. The text amendment proposed by mostly real estate agents couldn't be discussed. The board didn't publicly acknowledge the points from the 30 of us asking for denial. Feels like city hall is guiding us along on a path that benefits the people they choose worthy without regard for the little guy.

So, thank you neighbors for taking a chance. We tried, but they didn't listen. The one positive point I did hear is that they might reconsider how they notify neighborhoods about important rule changes. For now, all we can hope for is safety and low impact. I truly enjoyed getting to know the people in my neighborhood.

Lyndsay Schott lives in Whitefish.