Commercial zoning on Highway 93 South

As a long-time downtown Whitefish business and commercial property owner, I respectfully ask that the Whitefish City Council table for now further consideration of the proposed WB-T zoning district (Business Transitional District). The WB-T is currently scheduled for a final decision on your March 7 City Council agenda, but the business community and the public need to have a better understanding of just what is being proposed.

Many of the proposed commercial uses in the WB-T zone are not even defined in the city zoning code. For example, what is light commercial or wholesale and warehousing? And why does the WB-T zone, unlike WB-3 zone which covers commercial uses in downtown Whitefish, allow for the planning director to simply approve their site plan, when as I understand it, downtown businesses are held to a much more thorough review and higher standards that then goes before the city council for approval?

It has taken years to build a healthy downtown Whitefish through careful and thoughtful planning. What’s the rush? I know there is endless pressure put on staff to approve zoning changes, but again where’s the pressure coming from to approve this? There are so many unanswered questions and huge changes being proposed to benefit commercial interests. Please put this new zoning on a city council work session so unanswered questions can be raised and answered.

Susan Schnee, Whitefish