Board OKs project on Hwy 93 West
The Whitefish Planning Board gave another thumbs-up to a 52-unit development off Highway 93 West that has been in the works for more than a decade.
The developer, 93 LLC, is requesting a planned unit development and preliminary plat for 26-lot project that is proposed to contain 22 single family lots, four development pods for 30 condominium units and one five-acre lot reserved for future development. The property is about 23 acres in size.
The subdivision has been in the works since 2007, with the most recent approved plans coming in 2010.
City Councilor Richard Hildner said he’s been a fan of the project since the beginning and he’s happy to see it come back to the board.
“I’ve been seeing this project since 2007, it’s been around for a long time. I thought it was a good project when it was originally developed, and reading through I didn’t see anything that caused me any great alarm,” he said. “I think if anything there’s some things that have improved it.”
Planning Board member Rebecca Norton raised concerns resulting from the wetlands in the area and the fact that some studies referenced in the proposal, like groundwater monitoring, dating as far back as 2006.
“I’m not comfortable passing something through with such old data. Even though I understand that the staff allowed this, I think when we see something that’s going to be built right now it should actually be presented to the public, who we represent, with current data that’s verifiable, so I’m not going to vote for it tonight as it stands,” Norton said.
Eric Mulcahy, providing technical assistance with Sands Surveying, said the city will require additional groundwater monitoring before the project is realized, however.
Reto Barrington, the developer, and Mulcahy presented the project during the meeting.
Mulcahy said since the beginning, the focus has been on fitting the development to the site, rather than cramming their idea for the project into a unique area that features natural wetlands.
“When we were first introducing this project and taking it through, it was somewhat unique in that we were really trying to fit the development to the site as opposed to completely grading out the site to make it fit the development,” he said.
Regarding the wetlands, Mulcahy said the focus is on restoring those areas to their natural state rather than trying to further reshape them.
“Those wetlands, for lack of a better term, were more or less abused over a period of time. There was a number of driveways cut through the middle of the wetlands to access the existing homes on the site, and with this project, we will be removing those driveways and essentially restoring some of the functionality of some of those wetlands,” Mulcahy said.
Barrington also stressed the wetlands as a priority.
“The intention that we have isn’t really essentially based on expanding or decreasing the size but remediating the existing wetlands to a state which causes them to function in a fashion that’s consistent with their original condition,” he said.
The subdivision would have two accesses off Highway 93 that will be connected within the project by a privately owned and maintained loop road.
The site currently is mostly undeveloped, with four single-family homes to be removed as part of th development.
The project features 5 acres in open space, split into several small blocks along with a larger area that bisects the neighborhood and houses many of the site’s environmentally sensitive areas, including steep slopes, wetlands and drainage ways. The development would utilize city services, including water and sewer.
City Council originally granted 93 LLC preliminary plat and PUD approval in May 2007. In November of 2010 Council approved an amended preliminary plat, but last year the project expired. The current application is the same as the 2010 plan.
The development will go before Whitefish City Council during their June 4 meeting.