Zoning compliance idea goes to planning board
Mandatory zoning-compliance permits is
one of three requests by the city that the Whitefish City-County
Planning Board will discuss at their Thursday meeting.
The city has also submitted ideas on
how to amend the city’s subdivision regulations to assist
developers whose plats will expire soon, and allowing
microbreweries in business and industry zones with a conditional
permit.
The city’s request for a zoning
compliance permit for new development emerged from efforts to amend
the zoning on the U.S. 93 strip. Several businesses moved onto the
strip that did not comply with the WB-2 zoning regulations, which
were established to protect businesses in the downtown WB-3
district.
Zoning compliance permits would be
required for any development in the city and in the two-mile
planning and zoning “doughnut” area except for single-family
residences. The permit covers permitted uses, setbacks, lot
coverage, parking, landscaping, lighting and height.
The city also came up with five ways to
address the large number of subdivision plats nearing their
expiration dates — lengthening the amount of time allowed between
phases, setting a new time frame when a plat is amended,
lengthening the amount of time allowed for subdivision improvement
agreements, providing older projects with a variance from the
Critical Areas Ordinance, and allowing some projects a chance to
resubmit expired plats and get their fee refunded.
The board will meet in the White-fish
City Council chambers on Thurs-day, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. All three
requests are scheduled to go to the city council on Dec. 6.