Subdivision regs update is priority one
By RICHARD HANNERS
Whitefish Pilot
The top priority for city planners this year is to update the Whitefish subdivision regulations, city councilors learned during a Feb. 17 work session.
Some amendments are required because of new state laws. Action on minor subdivisions must now take place within 35 days, planners must determine the completeness of subdivision applications within 5-15 days, and water and sewer information must be provided with preliminary plat applications.
The definition of a minor subdivision has also changed to the creation of five or fewer lots within an original tract of record established prior to July 1, 1973. The intent is to stop major subdivisions from being disguised as minors by splitting the same tract over and over again.
City planning staff also presented the council with a number of discretionary amendments and policy issues, including parkland dedication, public hearing process, variances, phasing, extensions, subdivision improvement agreements, mandatory affordable housing, and design standards for access, connectivity, landscaping, tree retention, lot design and steep slopes.
New legislation allows cities to require parkland dedication for minor subdivisions. It also lets cities decide whether to base the dedication on 11 percent of total acreage in lots or at 0.3 acres per unit.
Mayor Mike Jenson expressed concern about the city acquiring numerous small, scattered parks that create a “bureaucratic nightmare.” He said he preferred the city collect cash-in-lieu unless the small acreage provides connectivity, such as for bike paths or access to lakes and streams.
City planners suggested establishing criteria for parkland based on a citywide parks plan and whether the donated land provides recreation, open space, wildlife habitat or other usable amenities. In the past, developers have offered land that is used for stormwater retention and has little parkland value.
The new deadlines for action on minor subdivisions might mean holding only one public hearing before the Whitefish City-County Planning Board, city planners said. The city council, which will make the final decision, could rely on planning board minutes and other information instead of holding a second public hearing.
This idea didn’t sit well with the councilors, who didn’t want to give up a chance to hear presentations on development proposals. Councilor Nancy Woodruff also said she was OK with developers modifying their plans after they were heard by the planning board “unless the changes are dramatic.”
Planning consultant Narda Wilson, who was hired to assist in drafting the new regulations, noted that most city councils don’t hold public hearings for minor subdivisions, “but it seems to be the culture here.”
“The council has debated this idea at least five times in the past and always comes back to two hearings,” city attorney John Phelps said.
City planning director Dave Taylor explained that the city typically opposes gated communities and has required privately owned and maintained roads to be open to the public, but nothing in the subdivision regulations specifically addresses this issue.
“Opposition to gated communities is the will of the people,” Woodruff noted.
Taylor also recommended continuing the city’s use of a grid pattern for roads unless there are environmental restraints. Public works director John Wilson recommended the council contact emergency service staff about this issue.
Planners hope to complete a working draft of the updated regulations by March or April. Public meetings would be held in April and May, followed by a comment period for professionals, including surveyors, engineers and planners. The planning board and city council would hold public hearings in June and July.