Consultants to take on U.S. 93 strip zoning

A mediation attorney and a

co-consultant told the Whitefish City Council on Dec. 6 that they

are confident they can resolve the city’s U.S. 93 South commercial

zoning dilemma.

Brian Muldoon, of Heartworks Mediation

Center, volunteered his services during the council’s Nov. 15

meeting, when proposed amendments to the WB-2 zoning regulations on

the U.S. 93 strip met with strong opposition and were tabled,

leaving no resolution in sight.

Restrictive WB-2 regulations were

enacted in 1982 to protect downtown businesses, but lax enforcement

over the decades led to numerous retail businesses becoming

illegally established on the U.S. 93 strip.

A proposal to increase the number and

types of permitted and conditional uses in the WB-2 zone was

developed after two years of study by a sharply divided ad hoc

committee in an effort to make illegal businesses come into

compliance. The proposal was re-drafted after several reviews by

city staff, the City Council and the Whitefish City-County Planning

Board.

“Somehow, I think I volunteered to take

this on, if the council is willing to participate and support the

process,” Muldoon told the council.

Dru Jackman, an experienced facilitator

in Whitefish, will join Muldoon in the effort.

“There’s no reason why we can’t be

successful at this,” Jackman told the council.

Acknowledging the difficulties, Muldoon

said he was completely confident he could resolve the zoning issue.

He said another ad hoc committee would need to be formed, and

results could be achieved in 60-90 days. He said he had already put

together a list of stakeholders and an eight-step process to

follow.

“This is not the corridor study we’ve

talked about, but this could be a solution,” Mayor Mike Jenson

said.

Councilor Phil Mitchell served on the

WB-2 ad hoc committee and has expressed his frustration about the

process in the past, but he supported Muldoon’s effort.

“We did all we could do,” he said. “I’m

not sure what he can do, but I’m willing to let him try.”

Jenson, Mitchell and councilors John

Muhlfeld and Turner Askew all volunteered to assist, even though

Muldoon had asked for only two councilors to participate on a new

committee. The goal is to have something ready for the council in

time for an April vote.

In the meantime, the city continued to

move forward with other steps to address the WB-2 zoning issue. An

ordinance amending the city’s business license to make it

site-specific was approved on its second reading, which will help

city officials know when businesses move from one location to

another.

But a proposed zoning-compliance permit

for commercial development was unanimously tabled after concerns

were raised about its applicability in the city’s two-mile planning

and zoning “doughnut” area.

The proposed permit system would allow

city planners a chance to review new development for setbacks, lot

coverage, parking, outdoor lighting, landscaping, building height

and uses. Not only would the city have an enforcement tool for

zoning, but the permit system would help prevent construction that

violates zoning standards ahead of time.

When brought to the planning board on

Nov. 18, city planner Wendy Compton-Ring noted that

zoning-compliance permits could be a useful tool for single-family

residences outside the city limits, but the proposal applies to

commercial properties only.

Some commercial properties on the U.S.

93 strip, however, are outside the city limits. With all the

political ramifications of implementing new city regulations in the

doughnut area, several city councilors recommended delaying a vote

on the new permit system until the city and county had completely

resolved issues over city regulations in the doughnut area.

Askew noted that the $75 fee for the

permit was “not onerous,” and he agreed with other councilors that

the zoning-compliance permit system is needed, but “we need to wait

for a response from the county” about the new interlocal agreement

governing the doughnut area, he said.

Four supporters of the

zoning-compliance permit addressed the council, including two

members of the Heart of Whitefish downtown merchant

association.

“The only people who follow the rules

are those who want to,” Rhonda Fitzgerald said, urging the council

to move forward with the permit system. “We want you to pass rules

and enforce them.”