Landowners support, Whitefish opposes zoning plan

Property owners along the U.S. 93 corridor south of Whitefish last week got a chance to weigh in on a proposed overlay zone and accompanying zone changes aimed at creating more flexibility in how they can use and develop their property.

The Flathead County commissioners held separate public hearings Aug. 17 on the proposed overlay zone for 1.5 miles of highway and the rezoning of 490 acres to include various levels of commercial zoning.

The commissioners opted to continue the hearings at a later date to allow time to consider public comments, but there is no time line as to when they’ll resume their discussion.

Planning Director Mark Mussman said the commissioners have three options: deny everything, approve everything or send it back to the Planning Board. Any major changes would require the corridor plan and zoning proposal to go back to the Planning Board, Mussman said.

One of the sticking points has been how to mitigate impact for the Emerald Heights residential neighborhood near the intersection of U.S. 93 and Montana 40. The proposed corridor plan calls for secondary business zoning at the high-profile intersection, a designation that would allow uses such as convenience stores and gas stations that typically are open long hours with bright lighting and lots of in-and-out traffic.

If the commissioners were to favor changing the zoning at that heavily traveled intersection to more restrictive business service district zoning — as proposed by several Emerald Heights residents — that would require further Planning Board analysis, Mussman said.

The Planning Board, which recommended approval of the corridor plan and rezoning, also recommended the commissioners consider business service district zoning for the Emerald Heights area.

Another major change that would require additional study would be Commissioner Gary Krueger’s request to plan out future road accesses to U.S. 93 on the south end of the overlay zone. Krueger asked land-use planner Dave DeGrandpre, who was hired by property owners in the corridor area to draft the plan, whether he would be amenable to adding language on road accesses to “get ahead of the ballgame.”

DeGrandpre said he could do that, but nothing was finalized.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell also told DeGrandpre he wanted him to work with Mussman “to figure out some of these issues.”

Mussman said 10 additional lots could be created in the suburban agricultural with a 5-acre minimum (SAG-5) zoning within the plan area, but “that would require some more transportation planning.”

The proposed zone changes have been tweaked since the Planning Board held its initial public hearing in January. Following an onslaught of public input, the proposed areas for secondary business zoning and business service district zoning were decreased.

The current proposal calls for rezoning 36.2 acres from SAG-5 to B-2A (secondary business); 79.2 acres from SAG-5 to BSD (business service district); 145.2 acres from AG-20 to SAG-5; and 0.2 acres from rural residential to B-2A.

Several property owners in the proposed overlay zone — the area that once was under city planning jurisdiction as the Whitefish “doughnut” — alluded to the years-long fight between the county and city over planning control of that area, and the frustration is caused because it was unclear what the future held for their plans to develop or even sell their property.

Sarah Nargi, owner of Whitefish Plastic Surgery that operates in the corridor area, said commercial zoning is more appropriate for properties along the highway. Her business operates with a conditional-use permit, but if she were to sell or rebuild her 9 acres would revert to residential zoning.

“We’ve spent 10 years talking about this,” Nargi said. “We’ve agreed to cooperate with Whitefish. We’ve tried to be as polite and cooperative as we can be.”

Whitefish Planning Director David Taylor said the design standards in the overlay are consistent with the city’s standard and “will go a long way to protecting the gateway to Whitefish.”

Taylor added, however, that the city opposes commercial zoning south of Montana 40 because of infrastructure inadequacies such as transportation issues. He also told the commissioners the city’s extension-of-services plan calls for city water and sewer services to stop at the Montana 40 junction. That hit a nerve with the commissioners.

Commissioner Mitchell accused Whitefish of wanting to stop growth. Commissioner Krueger said he believes it’s “irresponsible” to not plan for future extensions of utilities in the corridor area. Commissioner Pam Holmquist called it “disturbing” that the city doesn’t intend to extend services south of Montana 40.

Mayre Flowers of Citizens for a Better Flathead urged the county to work with all three incorporated cities on corridor plans. She suggested tabling the proposals for further study.

Even though the proposed overlay and accompanying zoning mirror what Whitefish has, if the area isn’t able to connect to city services it’s concerning, Flowers said. The secondary business zoning could foster commercial sprawl, she added.

“You need to look at how to manage the expansion appropriately,” Flowers said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.