Council considers Highway 93 apartment project

Whitefish City Council will consider Monday a proposal for a 60-unit apartment complex on U.S. 93 South.

Jeff Badelt and Sean Averill of Montana Development Group are proposing to construct five apartment buildings on a site west of the Naturally Clean dry cleaners. The plan calls for 12-units per building.

The developers say the project will provide needed affordable and workforce housing in Whitefish. Six of the units will go to the Whitefish Housing Authority as deed-restricted rentals.

The Planning Board earlier this month voted unanimously to approve the Whitefish Crossing project. The board was, however, concerned with increased traffic and providing enough parking spaces on site. 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.

A few neighbors in the Park Knoll subdivision have expressed reservations over the project. They are concerned about density, parking and possible vandalism in a wooded area that buffers the apartments from Park Knoll.

Developers are requesting a planned unit development overlay for the project and plan to utilize a density bonus to obtain the requested number of units. Access to the apartment is proposed through a new street that will intersect with U.S. 93 on the east and a future Baker Avenue extension on the west.

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. The board has requested developers find a way to provide the 140 spaces.