Houston area properties rezoned following annexation

Whitefish City Council last week approved two separate agenda ordinances rezoning properties recently annexed into the city in the Whitefish Lake east lakeshore area.

The properties were recently annexed into the city limits, requiring the zoning be changed from county to city designations.

The first rezone includes 52 parcels in the Houston Drive area, where properties will be rezoned from county to city suburban residential zoning.

The second is on 24 parcels on Houston Drive and Duff Lane in the same area and will be converted from county one-family limited residential to estate residential district zoning.

The city in November annexed 43 acres of land in the Houston Drive area.

City Council in 2014 placed the properties along Houston Drive at the top of its priority list for possible annexation. However, a lawsuit filed by property owners in the area delayed annexation until the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the city could annex the properties using the wholly surrounded method of annexation, which under state law allows the city to annex property without the property owners having the right to protest or prevent the annexation when access to the properties can only be gained by crossing through the city.

The city attempted unsuccessfully to annex Houston Drive in 1983 and 2000.