Small subdivision creates dilemma for council

A two-lot minor subdivision on nearly eight acres between Park Knoll Lane and the U.S. 93 strip has bedeviled city planners and property owners for several years now.

But on Jan. 18, after debating the unusual lot configurations and the city’s desire to have a right-of-way deeded to the city for the future extension of Baker Avenue, the Whitefish City Council unanimously approved Dear Tracs LLC’s request for an amended preliminary plat for their subdivision.

In the two years since the council granted Dear Tracs LLC’s preliminary plat in December 2009, partners Curt McIntyre and Jim Carbo worked out access easements and a boundary line adjustment with the Park Knoll Estates homeowners association.

The new lot line runs along the western edge of an 80-foot right-of-way that would be deeded to the city so Baker Avenue could one day be extended south from 19th Street to the Great Northern Heights subdivision above Western Building Center.

The proposed roadway is included in the decade-old South Whitefish Transportation Plan and is intended to be a secondary or frontage road running parallel on the west side of U.S. 93.

With all the work they put into the subdivision, and with the goal of putting the land on the market, McIntyre and Carbo said they were OK with the amended plat. McIntyre, however, noted that the small piece of land dedicated for Baker Avenue does not provide access to their land because the new road might not be built for a very long time.

Councilor Phil Mitchell said he was concerned the projected route for Baker Avenue would essentially “ruin” other lots south of the Dear Tracs, and mayor Mike Jenson characterized the situation as a “dilemma.”

Public works director John Wilson acknowledged that this was the first piece of land set aside for the Baker Avenue extension either as an easement or deeded right-of-way. He explained the difficulties the city faced in creating the South Whitefish Transportation Plan, ranging from structures sitting in the way such as the Chalet Motel, to steep topography near the Great Northern Heights subdivision, to strong resistance by property owners who oppose city development across their land.

Wilson added that the transportation plan did not result from “trying to be nice” but because the city was “avoiding battles” — particularly expensive and difficult condemnation proceedings.

Jenson agreed, noting that “planning needs to fit the city’s long-term needs” and it’s hard to accommodate personal needs. It would be better for the city if Baker Avenue is laid out in a straight line and not curving around uncooperative landowners, he said.

“We don’t know who’ll own that land 50 years from now,” he pointed out.