Council approves new parkland requirements

Whitefish is implementing new parkland dedication requirements for small plots of land with the intent of making the requirements more equitable. 

City Council on Dec. 7 approved changes that include using an 11 percent standard for all lots half an acre or less in size, which replaces the .03 acre-per-dwelling-unit standard. In adiditon, adding the option for a micropark and defining the “fair market value” as the most recent appraised value as determined by the state.

Council directed the Planning Department in February to review how parkland dedication is handled for small infill subdivisions after one developer noted that the city’s requirement would mean 39 percent of the overall subdivision would have to be parkland.

Mark VanEveran, who originally brought the issue to the city, returned saying the new requirements are still not equitable.

“How can this policy be congruent with infill projects,” he said. “The smallest lot is being assessed the highest fee. I recommend a flat fee for each unit for those projects under one acre.”

He pointed out that under the new standards, his townhome project would pay $7,160 for the cash-in-lieu fee, but a larger project would pay $7,209. His project with three lots would pay about $2,400 per lot, while another other project with four lots would pay about $1,800 per lot.

Planner Wendy Compton-Ring said a flat rate for parkland is not possible because state law requires the cash-in-lieu fee to be based upon the fair market value of the property.

Councilor Andy Feury said the land in VanEveran’s project at three units has a higher value because the zoning allows for a higher density than the four-unit project and thus causing the cash-in-lieu fee to be higher.

“Those properties with a higher value pay more for the cash-in-lieu fee for parkland,” he said. “The reality is that we have to look at the costs borne by the city and that’s what this does.”

The city has used park-in-lieu funds for a variety of projects, including restrooms and upgrades at Armory Park, bike path and sidewalk repair, improvements to the WAG dog park and constructing restrooms at Kiddie Park.