Neighbors stall apartment project
Neighbors of a proposed apartment complex on U.S. 93 South have filled an appeal with the city of Whitefish, saying the project doesn’t follow city zoning regulations.
Whitefish City Council Monday approved a zone change for the Whitefish Crossing project, but was forced to delay a decision on a planned unit development overlay after an attorney for the Park Knoll neighborhood filled an appeal to the city Board of Adjustments.
Jeff Badelt and Sean Averill of Montana Development Group are proposing 60 apartments in five buildings on the 4.5 acre site west of the Naturally Clean dry cleaners.
Council unanimously approved the zone change to secondary business district and one-family limited residential. The change returns the property, which was recently annexed into the city, to city zoning after it changed to interim county zoning when Flathead County took over planning outside city limits.
“We are just putting this back to what it was,” said councilor Andy Feury. “There is no change in the land use.”
As part of the PUD, the developers seek to blend the zoning on the property with different densities to allow for greater flexibility in the design. They plan to utilize a density bonus to obtain the requested number of units.
Residents in the Park Knoll subdivision to the west of the property have taken an exception to the PUD request.
Attorney Thomas Tornow, who represents the Park Knoll Homeowner’s Association, alleges in a letter to the city that the decision by the planning director to allow for the blending of density in the PUD is not permitted in the city zoning code.
Planning Director Dave Taylor responded to the letter, saying that blending of density is common practice for PUDs with multiple zoning districts and has been approved by council over the years.
“PUDs are an overlay zone that encompasses an entire site with one set of applicable development requirements, making the underlying zoning and its standards, including density, irrelevant,” Taylor said in a memo to the council. “They give the governing body maximum flexibility to accommodate good development that responds appropriately to environmental and other characteristics of the site.”
In response, Tornow on Monday filed a notice of appeal claiming that an error was made in the interpretation of the zoning regulations. Tornow appealed the decision to the city Board of Adjustments to determine if the zoning can be blended.
The board will likely consider the matter at its meeting on Dec. 9 to determine whether it’s within the council’s purview to allow for blended zoning. Council voted to postpone a decision on the PUD until its Jan. 5 meeting.
Six of the apartment units are planned to go to the Whitefish Housing Authority as deed-restricted rentals. The developers say the project will provide needed affordable and workforce housing in Whitefish.
“This fills the demand that is out there for rentals,” Sean Averill said. “There is almost zero vacancy for rentals. We’re trying to fill a need for affordable housing and the need for workforce housing.”
A few neighbors in the Park Knoll subdivision have expressed reservations over the project. They site density, parking and possible vandalism in a wooded area that buffers the apartments from Park Knoll as concerns.
Mark Voelker, who lives on Park Knoll Lane, told the council he is concerned about the rental units so close to his neighborhood.
“Those in rentals have no pride in ownership,” he said. “This project is a square peg in a round hole. I don’t see where this fits in.”
David Hunt, who also resides on Park Knoll, said he supports affordable housing, but not in this location.
“I do not support this high density PUD,” he said. “If you allow high density development then all the issues are magnified because of that. Young people will migrate into those woods and that will increase the probability of fire and vandalism.”
Access to the apartments will be off a newly constructed city street that will intersect with U.S. 93 on the east and a future Baker Avenue extension on the west. The project is estimated to generate about 400 trips per day. Eric Mulcahy, with Sands Surveying, previously said the Montana Department of Transportation had reviewed plans and determined no traffic study was necessary.
Karen Giesy expressed concerns about the increased traffic onto the highway with no traffic light.
“If you turn left into town, you’ve got a problem,” she said. “This is going to effect every resident going in and out.”
The proposed buildings are 39 feet and six inches high, which is above the city building height standard of 35 feet. Developers are also proposing 120 parking spaces — two per unit — as opposed to the 140 required by the city.