Council OKs retail shift for Hwy 93 corridor

Whitefish City Council has decided it’s willing to allow some retail business traditionally associated with downtown to seep into the U.S. Highway 93 corridor as long as it’s controlled.

Council approved on Aug. 15, on a 5-1 vote, a change in the city’s zoning code that will add recreation guides and outfitters as an allowed use with a conditional use permit in the WB-2 zone. Councilor Richard Hildner was the sole no vote.

Hildner said he felt great angst in making the decision to not support the change.

“It’s difficult as I sit here to see friends and neighbors in the audience,” he said. “I see this as two distinct businesses. We are trying to fit two of them in a [conditional use permit] in the WB-2.”

Council first tackled the issue two weeks ago when a request from Lakestream Outfitters for a zoning text amendment came forward. Much of the discussion revolved around the original proposal that would have allowed for retail sales for up to 30 percent of the gross floor area for a guide and outfitters building. Some councilors feared that could allow for simply too much space for retail operations as part of these business and could open the gateway to chain businesses.

Council last week approved allowing recreation guides and outfitters as a conditional use in the WB-2, while limiting the retail space to 5,000 square feet of floor area. They also banned recreation guide or outfitter formula businesses as part of the change. As a conditional use, those businesses will have to gain Council approval and meet the conditions it sets for specific properties to operate in the WB-2.

Councilor Andy Feury said the two pieces of a recreation guide business — retail and guiding — are one business.

“Recreational guide and retail are joined at the hip,” he said. “If I thought we could separate them I would. But we can’t.”

Though he voted in favor of the text amendment, Councilor Frank Sweeney said he too struggled with the decision.

“The one thing that makes this incredibly difficult is that this adds retail and personal services together,” he said. “No body is interested in pushing business out of Whitefish, but I struggle with how this type of business will operate. This kind of business needs parking, but will this cause us to throw the congestion from Central to Spokane?”

Councilor Katie Williams said the change provides the opportunity for a business that needs more space to continue to operate.

“We want this style of business — ecotourism — and to support local business,” she said. “The issue is parking and flow — this creates a way for them to fit in the WB-2 to have that. I’m comfortable with this as a conditional use permit.”

Guiding and outfitting businesses are considered “personal services” under city code and personal services have not been listed in the allowed use of WB-2. The WB-2 district is described as intended for those retail sales and service operations that typically need large display or parking areas, large storage and by outdoor commercial amusement or recreational activities.

The change came about at the request of Lakestream Outfitters, which is looking to relocate to Spokane Avenue from its current location on Central Avenue. The business currently operates in the WB-3 zone, but asked the city to make the change in the WB-2 zone to allow for the outfitting business to operate in an area that it says provides more space for parking and outside displays.

The request, which Council originally tabled on Aug. 1, quickly turned into a discussion about the future of retail business in downtown Whitefish. Supporters of Lakestream said the business needs a way to keep operating, while opponents said the change could lead to an exit of businesses from downtown.

Both sides returned again last week to once again lobby council to see the issue from their respective sides.

Chris Schustrom, with the Heart of Whitefish, said the change is a break with planning and zoning efforts of the past to keep retail in downtown.

“This will allow the flight of retail business into the WB-2 zone,” he warned. “Small retail businesses are supposed to enhance downtown. This will cause an increase in real estate values in the WB-2 zone that will force the type of businesses intended to operate there — lumber yards and car dealerships — to be forced out.”

Kim Brubaker, co-owner of Lakestream, said leaving personal services for businesses like guides and outfitters out of the WB-2 zoning is an oversight that should be corrected.

“We take great pride in the community,” she said. “Some fear this will mean a return to a time when downtown wasn’t thriving. It’s thriving now and that won’t change. We have to move forward and be progressive.”