Troubled Whitefish subdivision gets new life

A troubled subdivision north of the city has been given another two years to be developed.

Whitefish City Council on May 18 unanimously approved a preliminary plat extension for Lookout Ridge.

Whitefish Credit Union, which owns the 250-acre project, asked the city for an extension of the plat that had been set to expire in June. The plat will now expire June 15, 2017.

Lookout Ridge went through foreclosure last year and WCU has since secured the property title.

Landscape architect Bruce Boody said the credit union secured the title in July last year and wants to begin work on the property as soon as possible.

“If we could have acted by now, we would have,” he said. “If the plat is not extended the value of the property is diminished.”

Lookout Ridge includes 75 lots and 131 units.

A massive landslide in 2011 scratched a 1,000 foot scar into a hillside on Lookout Ridge and raised questions about soil stability on the property.

Council asked questions about what would be done with the slide area.

“The credit union is committed to moving forward and remediate the storm damage on this property,” Boody said. “The credit union is ready to sign a contract with the original planning team for this project and begin remedition of the slide area, weed control and move forward with water rights.”

The credit union will begin work on the property with the ultimate goal of selling it to a developer, Boody noted.

The preliminary plat for Lookout Ridge was initially approved in 2007.

Council approved two amended plats for the project. It also approved an extension of the plat in 2013 and then a two-year extension of the plat.