Proposal calls for creating seasonal workforce housing

Hoping to begin addressing the city’s workforce housing shortage, the Whitefish City Planning Board on Dec. 12 recommended approval for a new seasonal workforce housing proposal.

“I think that this is the future for Whitefish,” board member Allison Linville said. “I think that this is going to be something that pops up occasionally as a solution to the housing problem, and I think that our concerns on the board should be to address the community’s concerns and make sure that the regulations are in place for this to be a well run facility that fits in with the neighborhood and serves the greater community.”

The Reisch Family Partnership is requesting a conditional use permit to turn the former Whitefish Independent High School building on East Seventh Street into an eight-unit boarding house. The building would house up to 32 temporary workers, 16 in four rooms in the basement and another 16 in four rooms on the main floor. A permanent live-in manager would also have an apartment in the building.

Dale Reisch, owner of Montana Tap House, Alpine Market and Markus Foods, said the idea for the project came from his work with a worker exchange program, Spiritual Cultural Exchange, and having trouble finding places for seasonal workers to live. Under the exchange program, workers apply through the program to come to the U.S. for work and are vetted by the Department of State before they are granted a visa.

“It’s gotten to the point where companies tell us if we don’t provide housing they’ll take the kids to different towns, so we’re put in a position where if we don’t provide housing we’re not going to get the additional summer help,” Reisch said.

Mark Johnson, architect for the project, said he envisions the building as “a dormitory-style living arrangement,” where up to four people share a unit and follow a set of house rules, such as no alcohol or drug use, as to not let the occupants disturb the surrounding neighborhood. These rules would also ensure that workers living there wouldn’t be disturbed by other tenants. Tenants would stay a minimum of 30 days, as per the permit’s conditions.

“We really need to provide an environment for these residents so they can be given reasonable peace, comfort and privacy from the other residents,” Johnson said.

“All of this is for the protection of the people who live there,” Reisch added.

Initial concerns about the density of the project were raised in letters to the Planning Board. Johnson said the 32 maximum resident number comes primarily from building code requirements, though they’d like to see the actual number of residents be close to the maximum.

Councilor Richard Hildner said he liked the project, but could understand some of the worries about density.

“Could you do with something less?” he asked. “It seems to me there may be an appetite for approval, but I think the numbers might be daunting for some.”

Hildner also suggested building an outdoor recreation area where tenants could barbecue and relax outside, but the idea was withdrawn after defining outdoor recreation and setting up some sort of screen barrier seemed problematic.

Members of the public and neighbors to the building spoke highly of the proposal at the meeting.

“I really congratulate Pat (Carloss) and Dale for stepping up and taking an existing property, crafting a solution and providing some quality temporary housing,” Rhonda Fitzgerald said. “I think that it’s great to see an example set, and if other people can see that it can be done we can tackle this problem.”

Jason Forrest, who lives nearby on Park Avenue, said he’s happy to see a project like this come to Whitefish after a recent affordable housing survey recommended the city build 980 housing units by 2020 to catch up and stay ahead of growth.

“I recognize the need for this and I support it. I think the community definitely needs it,” he said.

The board liked the household rules but debated on how to keep them in place in the event that a new owner takes over the building. The CUP is tied to the land, so the conditions of the permit would remain for the next owner, but the planning board cannot ensure that the next owner would want to keep the rules.

The board voted unanimously to add a condition that requires an on-site manager, and voted to recommend approval for the project 5-1, with board member John Ellis dissenting.

Board member Jim Laidlaw agreed, saying that with high rent prices, affordable projects are necessary in the near future.

“Rents in Whitefish are really growing at an astronomical pace to where it’s almost embarrassing. We’re forcing everybody out of our community, and even Columbia Falls is filling up now. There is a definite need for this,” he said.

City Council will hold a public hearing on the request at its Jan. 3 meeting at interim City Hall.