Guest house request discussion revolves around septic systems

A request to construct a guest house at a property on Whitefish Lake before Whitefish City Council earlier this month turned into a discussion about septic systems.

“It seems we should take every opportunity to connect places to city sewer,” Councilor Richard Hildner said. “This is about the quality of Whitefish Lake.”

City Council ultimately on Aug. 5 on a vote of 4-2 approved a conditional use permit allowing for the guest house. Councilors Hildner and Frank Sweeney voted against the request after both asking several questions about the procedure for requiring properties to connect to city services.

The Theodora and William Walton Irrevocable Trust requested the permit to construct a guest house at 2162 Houston Drive. The property already includes a single-family home. The guest house is planned to be two-stories at about 1,200 square feet in size.

The property, along with several others in the Houston Drive area, was annexed into the city in November of 2017.

The property is served by a private septic system reviewed by Flathead County Environmental Health Department.

Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman explained that the county would examine the number of fixtures in the guest house to determine if the current septic system is sufficient to serve it in addition to the house. If city sewer service were within 200 feet of the property, which it’s not, the owner would be required to connect to the city system.

In addition, if the cost of connecting to city services is three times the cost of making septic improvements then the county would allow the septic system, he noted.

A 2012 study by the Whitefish Lake Institute confirmed contamination in Whitefish Lake as the result of failing septic systems on properties located around the lake.

Mayor John Muhlfeld pointed out that review of the septic system is outside the city’s jurisdiction.

“As much as we’d like the homeowner to do the right thing, it’s out of our purview,” he said. “We just have to hope the county does the right thing when it comes to reviewing this.”