Board unable to agree on change in parking requirements

After two tie votes on the issue, the Whitefish Planning Board on Thursday decided to forward a request to change parking standards for small housing units to City Council without a recommendation.

A request has been submitted to the city to amend the city code for off-street parking for multi-family dwelling units for studio and one-bedroom apartments. The current parking standard, regardless of size of the unit, requires two parking spaces per dwelling unit plus one guest space for every three units.

The change looks to amend the code to reduce the required parking only for smaller multi-family units. The change looks reduce the parking to 1.25 spaces for studio/efficiency apartments and 1.5 spaces per one-bedroom units.

The Planning Board was unable to come to a consensus on whether the changes would be a good idea. The board first split on a vote recommending denial and then again split when it voted on a motion to recommend approval of the regulation change.

Board member John Ellis said reducing parking would be short-sighted.

“The streets are impassible now — you can’t even drive down them,” he said.

Chairman Steve Qunell, however, pointed out that the changes would be for off-street parking developments.

“There is a difference between parking in Whitefish and a large project,” he said. “Making this change wouldn’t change what we have in residential areas now. This step is the first of many that makes parking for new developments sound.”

Board member Judy Hessellund, however, said she has seen too many times where a couple rents a studio apartment and has two cars so there needs to be adequate parking.

The city’s current parking standards were created in 1994, but a lot has changed since then, noted Senior Planner Wendy Compton-Ring.

“Today communities are concerned with water quality standards as they pertain to stormwater run-off, and we recognize the importance of minimizing impervious surfaces to protect water quality and the value of more green spaces that can be accommodated more readily with reduced pavement,” she said. “The prevalence of the use of alternative forms of transportation is more of a reality today than it was 24 years ago.”

She also noted that the Whitefish Strategic Housing Plan suggests the parking standards should be changed based upon the unit size and possibly location of development. The city’s draft Climate Action Plan also recommends reducing parking requirements to reduce impervious surfaces to reduce heat and stormwater run-off.

Judah Gersh brought forward the idea to the city as a result of a possible development he is considering on property on Colorado Avenue. He said his plan calls for creating 400-square-foot studio and 500-square-foot one bedroom apartments.

“We have plenty of land, but you look and wonder why so much asphalt is necessary,” he said. “When you’re looking at smaller apartments it seems quite wasteful.”

Gersh said he would expect even couples who are sharing a one bedroom apartment to only have one car.

During public comment, two citizens asked the city to modify its changes before moving forward.

Mayre Flowers said a reduction in parking should be used as a tool to develop affordable housing.

“There is value in parking to the city,” she said. “We need to get affordable housing by requiring it to be tied to a provision that would reduce parking. There is no sense in giving away parking.”

Rhonda Fitzgerald agreed that parking is a tool for encouraging affordable housing. She noted that just because an apartment is one bedroom doesn’t mean it’s affordable.

“To allow for less parking in a broad swath in all zones is inappropriate,” she said. “It shouldn’t just be any one bedroom — it should be tied to a location like near downtown or close to transit.”

The request is set to go before City Council on April 2.