Zoning compliance idea goes to planning board

Mandatory zoning-compliance permits is

one of three requests by the city that the Whitefish City-County

Planning Board will discuss at their Thursday meeting.

The city has also submitted ideas on

how to amend the city’s subdivision regulations to assist

developers whose plats will expire soon, and allowing

microbreweries in business and industry zones with a conditional

permit.

The city’s request for a zoning

compliance permit for new development emerged from efforts to amend

the zoning on the U.S. 93 strip. Several businesses moved onto the

strip that did not comply with the WB-2 zoning regulations, which

were established to protect businesses in the downtown WB-3

district.

Zoning compliance permits would be

required for any development in the city and in the two-mile

planning and zoning “doughnut” area except for single-family

residences. The permit covers permitted uses, setbacks, lot

coverage, parking, landscaping, lighting and height.

The city also came up with five ways to

address the large number of subdivision plats nearing their

expiration dates — lengthening the amount of time allowed between

phases, setting a new time frame when a plat is amended,

lengthening the amount of time allowed for subdivision improvement

agreements, providing older projects with a variance from the

Critical Areas Ordinance, and allowing some projects a chance to

resubmit expired plats and get their fee refunded.

The board will meet in the White-fish

City Council chambers on Thurs-day, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. All three

requests are scheduled to go to the city council on Dec. 6.