93 West plan up for final review

A new land-use plan for the Highway 93 West corridor in Whitefish continues to be met with mixed reviews as it heads to City Council.

The plan lays out future land uses from the Veterans Memorial Bridge to Mountainside Drive on the recently rebuilt road, and is an addendum to the Whitefish City-County Growth Policy.

It was approved by the City Planning Board this month and will go to City Council on Feb. 2.

While most of the plan calls for no change to the existing land use, recommended “transitional” zoning for the area from Ramsey Avenue to the bridge has received scrutiny from some neighborhood residents.

The plan recommends the south side of the area remain multi-family residential with some light commercial uses.

The north side of the highway, however, has been tagged as “mixed use transitional,” while the Idaho Timber property is an “industrial transitional district.”

“[The neighborhood] was traditionally workforce housing, including for Idaho Timber and the railroad, but the closing of the mill and the proximity to the highway and multi-family zoning has allowed it to transition to a light-commercial area, with a large number of professional offices and personal services replacing residential uses,” planning director Dave Taylor said of the area.

He notes that single-family homes are being torn down and replaced with condos and apartments, creating a mixed-use environment.

“With the proximity to the adjacent BNSF rail line and the Idaho Timber site, the [steering committee] felt it provided an ideal protected location for some creative future planning to promote economic development as the area transitions,” Taylor said.

While the committee doesn’t want to see full scale commercial or “strip” development, Taylor said, they felt small business opportunities such as “artisan manufacturing” or sandwich and coffee shops were appropriate.

He said the committee envisioned a link between redevelopment of the Idaho Timber property and the properties along the corridor.

“They felt that area could be an ideal compliment to downtown,” he said.

“Ideas such as a river front paddle board manufacturing business with accessory sales or rentals, perhaps with an adjacent microbrewery or small coffee shop with second floor residential uses, were discussed as a way to better link the Whitefish River with our downtown and the trail system.”

Steering committee member Ann Moran said she agreed with most of the plan, but that many residents in the area don’t support the transitional districts — specifically they’re against the zone changes that allow breweries or manufacturing, she said.

“That’s what got us here in the first place,” she said in reference to a plan for a microbrewery on West Second Street proposed in 2013 by U.S. House Rep. Ryan Zinke.

“Proponents [of the plan] may encounter opposition from neighbors,” she added. “That’s not healthy — then you have polarity in the neighborhood.”

Zinke — who owns property on West Second Street — ultimately withdrew his brewery proposal, but his request ignited discussions about the need for a corridor plan. Zinke is a member of the steering committee.

Rhonda Fitzgerald called the transitional zone “a recipe for sprawl.”

“Anything you can think of, you can do,” she said. “Overnight rental, coffee shops, breweries.”

“We should honor the wishes of the neighborhood. Just because a few property owners want to change, doesn’t mean we should.”

Committee chairman Doug Reed countered that the final draft plan is a result of three public work sessions and nine committee meetings.

“The spirit of the committee when talking about artisan manufacturing, [was to] open up the possibilities,” Reed said. “The Idaho Timber property creates some exciting opportunities. They are not all negatives — they can be ingenious.”

In representing the owners of the Idaho Timber property, Hunter Homes said the proposed zoning give the developers a “clean slate.”

“Right now it’s industrial and that’s not what he wants to do,” Homes said. “We need the zoning that allows us to come up with many ideas.”

“With the new plan, it will work toward everybody’s benefit.”

Taylor reminded the planning board that the intent was for a gradual shift to the transitional designation and that zone changes could only be initiated by property owners.

In voting to send the plan to city council, Richard Hildner said there might be more work to be done.

“There are some things I really like and some housekeeping issues that are to be dealt with,” said Hildner, the council representative on the planning board. “This plan is likely to be a template [for other corridor plans] and it’s darn important we do a good job with it.”