Past, future development impacts voted as highest concern

The roots of Whitefish were formed in the logging and the railroad industries that shaped the town in its early decades. Through the years Whitefish has become a center point for those wanting to experience an array of outdoor recreation opportunities on the weekends, and a destination for tourists enjoying shopping and culture, the slopes of Big Mountain in the winter and the waters of Whitefish Lake in the summer.

The Pilot recently held a survey asking folks what the top issues are facing the community. Topping the list of concerns is growth.

Folks raised concerns about the rapid pace of growth in residential construction and short-term rentals making it difficult to find housing. Related concerns were brought up about traffic congestion and a lack of parking downtown and managing commercial development to keep the character of downtown.

“Economic growth is important, but overgrowth is detrimental,” one comment said. “There is way too much of a push to bring more people to the community to visit and live.”

Some commenting expressed positives that have come with the growth in Whitefish, but pointed to drawbacks too.

“As a full-time resident who has lived and worked here for 35 years, I do like all of the amenities that have been added to our community over the years,” one wrote. “We have much better road, and due to our booming tourism industry many of my friends are now able to work year round and are making a good living. However, I feel that things have changed with the city’s primary focus on tourism. I feel that the growth has boomed so much with so many tourists here that it is now unpleasant to even go downtown for a spontaneous dinner out.”

Mayor John Muhlfeld said the key to keeping quality of life in Whitefish even through growth is to prioritize the citizens and residents of this community and not cater to some out-of-state developers who view “doing business in Whitefish as a way to make a quick buck.”

“Maintaining our authenticity and our unique mountain town character, and working for our residents and taxpayers are the primary goals of this City Council, and we will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest for those who live, work and raise families in Whitefish,” he said.

City Planning and Building Director Dave Taylor points out that the only place in the state growing faster that the Flathead Valley is Bozeman.

“People are recognizing that quality of life is important and they are choosing to want to live here,” he said. “Managing growth is a challenge when you’re growing this fast — you can’t stay the same but you also need to be strategic in how you grow. No growth is a problem, but now that growth is booming that can have its own issues. That means scrutinizing development proposals to make sure they don’t negatively impact the rest of the city, they fit in, and they add value to our community.”

In the last decade the city has expanded its boundaries by about 309 acres, according to Whitefish Planning and Building Department figures.

Housing

Residential construction for the last decade has mostly been on an upward trend. Residential construction from 2009 through 2018 saw a total of 796 new residential units receive building permits including for single-family, townhouse and multifamily units.

Last year alone there were 158 residential permits for new residences, which is slightly more that the previous high in 2016 of 156 new residential units.

Taylor said the trend of constructing multifamily housing has become much more prevalent in the last five years.

“We’ve seen a lot more mixed-use buildings in the last few years with residential above ground floor commercial,” he said. “We’ve also seen a lot of redevelopment of older, underdeveloped properties in downtown.”

Last year the city issued permits for 54 multifamily —units in 2017 it issued 24 and in 2016 there were 91 permitted. The seven years prior had a total of 28 multifamily permits issued.

Taylor says some of that is a result of expensive land prices that requiring maximizing value through density, while also creating housing that is in demand.

“Whitefish needs apartments,” he said. “There has been some developers who have been willing to create that type of housing.”

He points to the Whitefish Crossing apartments with 60 units on Highway 93 South, and the planned Riverbank Apartments with 234 apartments on the former North Valley Hospital site as two examples.

Residential construction may be poised to continue on this trend, as the city approved 12 preliminary plats last year for a total of 146 lots, which the city says is a sharp increase in lot creation compared to the last decade.

Taylor, however, points out that there are some constraints for how much Whitefish can grow in the future.

“Whitefish is unique in that it has some major topographical constraints to growth, with Whitefish Lake, Big Mountain, and areas of steep slopes and high groundwater that limit what can be developed,” he said.

Taylor points out that the city’s infill policy as part of the 2007 growth policy has prompted a lot of redevelopment in the downtown core, limiting the remaining developable land. By restricting development to use up what’s inside the city first that lessens the burden on infrastructure.

“The growth policy called for redevelopment in the city limits,” he said. “Most of that empty property has been snapped up in the last few years and there’s not much left out there.”

Taylor expects that future growth will occur along Highway 93 and says the city is working on revising its zoning to promote more multi-family and mixed-use development there.

“There will continue to be redevelopment of properties that are underdeveloped, but the majority of the opportunity for residential and commercial growth will be in our 93 South corridor, which has the largest tracts of available land,” he said.

Headwaters Economics found that between 1990 to 2016, in Flathead County there were 71,200 acres of open space converted to housing. During that same period, 17,159 homes were constructed in the county.

At the same time conservation easements in recent years have protected land from becoming housing near Whitefish. The recently finalized Whitefish Lake Watershed Project preserves a 13,400-acre swath of land northwest of Whitefish Lake. The Haskill Basin conservation easement finalized in 2016 preserved about 3,000 acres of forestland north of town, and the Trumbull Creek conservation easement protected about 7,000 acres north of Columbia Falls.

Many commenting in the Pilot’s survey said they enjoy open spaces and outdoor recreation, and want to preserve green space.

“Land conservation is huge for our future,” one comment said. “There’s only so much open space left, and we need to preserve it for wildlife and public recreation access at all costs.”

Whitefish’s population was 7,608 in 2017, according to U.S. Census data, compared with a decade earlier when the population was listed at 6,357. This is an increase of 19.7 percent, which compares to the growth in Flathead County of 10 percent during the same time frame. The county saw its population go from 90,928 in 2010 to 100,000 in 2017.

Census data also shows that between 2013 to 2017, there was about 3,296 households in Whitefish and only 57.9 percent of housing units were owner-occupied.

Taylor says the city’s population counts don’t tell the full story for what’s happening in Whitefish because of the number of residences here that are used as second homes.

Muhlfeld said the biggest challenges Whitefish faces from a planning perspective is infrastructure deficiencies and the demand growth is placing on public services including police, fire, emergency services and parks.

“No one wants to increase taxes, but as growth continues, the demand on public services and infrastructure is only increasing,” he said. “Our parks are being literally loved to death and our revenues are not sufficient to keep up with ongoing operating and maintenance costs, or capital improvements.”

Short-term rentals

A perceived increase in short-term rentals seems to be a source of consternation for folks. Several comments on the Pilot’s survey mentioned vacation rentals having a negative impact on the quality of life for full-time residents.

“It is unfair to the yearlong local residents who live in nice quiet neighborhoods to have to put up with a constant revolving door of unknown next door neighbors who are here to have fun and party,” said one comment.

Whitefish in 2018 issued permits for 103 short term rentals compared to 25 in 2017 and 15 in 2016. However, the increased permit activity can largely be attributed to an effort to bring such vacation rentals into compliance with city regulations.

There are currently 160 short-term rental units permitted in the city.

Taylor said short-term rentals have mixed impacts on Whitefish. He points to the redevelopment of empty lots with mixed use including rentals and commercial space in downtown including The Galleries building at Second Street and Baker Avenue, along with one completed building and one still under construction on Second Street West near the Whitefish River, as examples.

“The rise of short-term rentals has pushed more speculative investments in residential, and has spurred some redevelopment of downtown that wouldn’t likely have happened,” he said. “The influx of out of state and second home buyers has pushed up prices making things less affordable for year round residents, which is a challenge for everyone but perhaps our local real estate agents.”

Commercial

In the city, commercial building permits, which include new permits and remodels, have ebbed and flowed in the last decade with a total of almost 400 permits issued in the last decade, according to city Planning Department figures. In 2018 there was 42 permits issued, which is just one more permit than in 2017, and still below the decade peak of 57 permits in 2016. Between 2009 and 2018 there were a total of almost 400 commercial permits issues in the city.

Both 2017 and 2018 each saw five new commercial buildings permitted in the city. The highest in the last decade was 11 new commercial buildings in 2016.

Taylor says most of the commercial growth happening in the city is redevelopment, which is a good thing because it removes blight and adds tax value and jobs to the community.

The number of business registered with the city has increased over the last decade. The number of business licenses grew to 181 total in 2018, compared with the low over the last 10 years of 39 licenses in 2011.

Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland said business in Whitefish is in a very strong position compared with 10 years ago. In 2009 Whitefish was beginning to deal with the realities of the Great Recession, he noted, and the real estate bubble had burst while at the same time Whitefish was fortunate enough to benefit from a strong economy in Canada to carry it through.

“Whitefish has truly arrived as a destination resort, while also managing to maintain the small town feel that makes us unique,” he said. “This hasn’t happened by accident ... maintaining the delicate balance between our tourist-based economy and the other factors that drive our economic engine has always been a primary the goal of the chamber, the city and those who live and work here.”

Gartland said the trends right now are positive.

“The trick has always been — and will continue to be — managing the growth that is coming our way, and addressing the issues that continue to plague us ... traffic, parking and workforce housing, just to name a few,” he said.

Traffic & Public Safety

Concerns over traffic and congestion were also brought up during the Pilot’s reader’s poll. According to the Montana Department of Transportation traffic counts, the annual average daily traffic count for U.S. Highway 93 entering Whitefish was about 21,000 vehicles in 2018. While the counts have fluctuated in the last decade, the same spot had 18,540 average daily vehicle trips in 2009. That’s a 15 percent increase in traffic.

Based on 2018 counts, the annual average daily traffic count for Spokane Avenue as it nears downtown is just under 12,000 vehicles, a roughly 2,000 vehicle increase from a decade ago.

Just before heading over the viaduct, at Baker Avenue the count was almost 18,000 vehicles per day in 2018 compared with 12,350 in 2009. Traveling north on Wisconsin Avenue the county is about 12,700 compared with almost 9,000 in 2009.

In comments on the top issues survey, many lamented traffic congestion and lack of parking as an issue facing the city. Some wanted more stop lights and roundabouts as ways of improving traffic.

“The transportation system does not adequately handle the traffic created by the increase in full-time and part-time residents and the summer and winter tourism traffic,” said one comment.

Some also said that the addition of the parking garage attached to City Hall with its roughly 200 parking space has improved the ability to find a parking spot in downtown. Updating the city’s parking plan for downtown was approved by City Council on its 2018 list of goals.

Muhlfeld said while the city’s resort tax continues to fund street reconstruction projects, many of the areas of concern are the responsibility of the Montana Department of Transportation.

“Many of the primary transportation corridors such as Wisconsin Avenue are secondary state highways, and were not built to support the traffic volumes we are experiencing, Wisconsin Avenue being a perfect example,” he said. “We have engaged Montana Department of Transportation to advance improvements to Highway 93 and Baker Avenue, and we are optimistic MDOT will sponsor a project in the next year.”

Police Chief Bill Dial has seen the impact of growth in Whitefish in his nearly two decades with the department.

The police department in 2011 received about 9,200 requests for service calls spiked at a high of 14,000 calls in 2016. Calls for the last two years have leveled at about 13,000 calls per year, according to Dial.

“Growth is a huge thing for us,” he said. “The biggest issue for the police department is being proactive and being reactive to calls is cutting in to that. Growth is good, but to a point.”

Dial would rather see his officers out patrolling in cars, on bikes or by foot in efforts to prevent crime rather than responding after crime has occurred such as after a car has been broken into. He says dealing with traffic-related calls such as accidents peaks when visitor numbers increase in the summer and during the Christmas holiday drawing focus to those calls.

“If we’re out patrolling we can be deterring crime,” he said. “We can be in schools talking to kids about family violence.”

Dial says more funding is needed for the police and fire departments to respond to increased calls.

“Allowing for more staffing we could be more proactive in crime prevention,” he said. “We could get out of cars and talk to the merchants, but we’re so darn busy right now we can’t do that.”

Planning for growth

Some in the Pilot’s top issues survey complimented the planning that has occurred in Whitefish.

One comment was complimentary to Central Avenue and the downtown area.

“The planning and zoning that helped create the downtown atmosphere and aesthetics is top notch,” the comment said. “The design encourages foot traffic and provides a sense of community. Keep up the good work.”

The city of Whitefish adopted its growth policy in 2007 to prepare for growth. The document looks at natural resources, economic development, land use, community facilities/infrastructure, housing, transportation and established future land use maps to show the types of land uses appropriate for different areas as the city grows.

Muhlfeld points to the growth policy that has helped guide the community for the last decade, and notes that much has changed since then and says updating the plan is necessary.

“From a planning perspective, I think we’re more in a reactive mode than we were 10 years ago,” Muhlfeld said. “While we have made great strides such as implementing key catalyst projects identified in our downtown master plan, and completing studies for the Highway 93 West and Wisconsin Avenue corridors, more long-term planning is needed to stay ahead of the curve. From my perspective, this may include updating the city’s 2007 growth policy to better position the city for the next growth cycle. This has to involve a rigorous public process so that any adopted plan clearly articulates the vision of our residents.”

Whitefish has completed a number of corridor plans including for Highway 93 West and Wisconsin Avenue, and is currently working on a plan for Highway 93 South. It also has transportation plans in place that have helped steer development projects on Highway 93 South to build extensions of Columbia Avenue and Whitefish Avenue.

The city has a downtown master plan to guide the future of downtown and a trails plan for nonnmotorized transportation, among many other planning documents.

“Not having a plan for growth is like building a house without a set of plans,” Taylor says. “You might get something and you might live in it, but it’s not going to be done efficiently and it might not be exactly what you really wanted.”