Decision on new hotel pushed back

A number of questions about a new hotel planned for downtown Whitefish surfaced last week after the City Planning Board took an initial look at the project.

At its Dec. 18 meeting, the board questioned the hotel’s overall mass, its impact on the adjacent residential neighborhood, the amount of parking, and how developers plan to deal with possible groundwater pollution at the site. They also wanted to know if the developers are planning for the hotel to be a franchise brand — namely a Marriott.

Ultimately, the board decided it needs more information before it can make an informed recommendation on the project. They voted unanimously to continue the public hearing at their next meeting in January.

“Part of what is complicated about this is that [the hotel] is anchored to the town,” said board member Melissa Picoli. “It really defines the next 20-30 years of this town. I’m not ready to vote yes or no on this.”

Whitefish Hotel Group — which includes local developers Sean Averill, his brother Brian Averill, as well as an unnamed partner in Florida — proposes to construct the three-story, 89-room hotel at a lot on the corner of Spokane Avenue and Second Street across from Whitefish Middle School. The site is commonly referred to as Block 46.

The Averills, who are owners-operators of The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, bought the Block 46 property earlier this year.

“We think this site and this model is really the only model that will work for a hotel,” Sean Averill told the planning board Thursday.

He noted previous proposals for downtown hotels that never materialized, including a plan from another developer for a hotel at Block 46 that fell through last year. A boutique downtown hotel is named as a catalyst project in the downtown master plan.

“We’re excited about this plan and think we have a model that will work,” Averill said.

Neighborhood impact

A conditional use permit is required for the project because the proposed hotel has a footprint of about 15,000 square feet, which doubles the city’s 7,500 square-foot “big box” limit for downtown buildings. The property is zoned WB-3, which allows hotels as a conditional use.

“The building is allowed, it just requires extra review,” senior planner Wendy Compton-Ring explained.

Some neighbors to the project said the hotel as currently designed is simply too big for the residential area.

Leo Rosenthal lives on Columbia Avenue a block from the proposed hotel site. He said the “big box” regulations were put in place to protect the historical character of his neighborhood.

“Exceptions should only be made if they greatly benefit Whitefish and they don’t detract from what Whitefish is,” he said.

“This is the same street everyone in the area brings their kids to trick or treat on Halloween. I had 732 trick or treaters this year. Is this the neighborhood we want to impact as a result of exceeding the regulations?”

“I think it’s been identified that a hotel is a good use, but one of this grand scale is just not appropriate for that neighborhood.”

The main entrance to the hotel lobby is proposed at the corner of Second and Spokane.

A new site plan submitted to the board on the night of the meeting shows vehicle entrances to the property off Third Street and Kalispell Avenue.

Board member John Ellis questioned whether the entrance off Kalispell Avenue was necessary and asked the developers to explore the option of closing it off or allowing emergency access only.

An entrance off Spokane was eliminated due to safety concerns with a future bike and pedestrian path proposed for the roadway. In the new site plan, the sidewalk along Spokane is envisioned as a pedestrian plaza.

Picoli asked about traffic congestion with the hotel so close to the middle school. She noted that the busy times at the hotel might conflict with parents dropping off and picking up students.

A traffic study on the project was completed just prior to the meeting, but wasn’t yet available for board members.

Ellis said he needed to see the study before making a decision.

While developers aren’t required to provide parking in the WB-3 zone, a parking lot on the south side of the hotel will have 67 spaces. Brian Averill said that should be enough, assuming an average 70 percent occupancy rate at the hotel.

Still, board members questioned whether that would be sufficient during peak seasons and noted that the city currently uses the site as public parking.

“I’ve really struggled with the parking issue,” board chairman Ken Meckle said. “We seem to keep making decisions that add to our parking problem.”

Dan Cutforth owns the Downtowner Inn across Spokane Avenue from Block 46. He called the proposed hotel a “great project” that would be an asset to the community, but he worried about parking, as well. He said in the summer the occupancy rate at his property is at 90 to 100 percent.

“Parking is at a premium,” he said. “Downtown, we’re just slammed in the summer.”

Marriott

Picoli asked Brian Averill about a “Go Board” planned in the lobby which is a proprietary feature of Marriott hotels. She said there have been rumors that the hotel might be a franchise brand.

“I think it’s important for us to know,” Picoli said.

“It changes the character entirely once there is a franchise based by downtown. It’s the shift and turning a little bit of a corner.”

Brian Averill said they were evaluating whether a franchise hotel would be best for the property but had made no final decisions.

“We’ve looked at a number of different ones, including Marriott,” he said. “It’s hard to argue with the benefits that come with franchise hotels. They have millions and millions of loyalty members, and those loyalty members are what draw occupancy in a hotel.”

He added that the hotel occupancy rate is what will positively impact other businesses in downtown.

“The benefit would be tremendous for Whitefish. We’re just not quite sure we’re ready to take that step either.”

He noted that the building would look the same whether its a franchise or independent brand.

Picoli added that she didn’t think the hotel as designed fit the criteria of being boutique.

Architecture Review Committee member Ian Collins said he asked the Averills at a November meeting whether they were planning a Marriott, but was given an “evasive response.” Collins said the community deserves to know whether the hotel will be “a unique, one-of-a-kind hotel” or a franchise hotel.

The city has standards pertaining to “formula” franchises in Whitefish, but they only apply to retail and restaurants.

DEQ

The corner of Spokane and Second previously was the home of a gas station, which had a leaking underground storage tank, according to a city staff report.

Remediation work was completed in 2005 and low levels of groundwater contamination remain, the report says.

The developers plan to treat the groundwater captured on site with a perimeter drain around the new hotel. It is unlikely the city will permit discharge of this water to the storm system, said Compton-Ring.

She said the city is working with the Department of Environmental Quality on how to move forward since this is a first-of-its-kind proposal for city staff.

She also noted there is the possibility of high groundwater at the site.

“Staff will carefully review measures to treat groundwater and ensure compliance with Department of Environmental Quality standards,” Compton-Ring said.