Whitefish open house to address housing needs

Finding affordable housing options has been on Whitefish’s agenda for years, but it’s on the front burner in a big way this week as the city embarks on the process of developing a master plan to create workforce housing.

An open house is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall to give Whitefish residents a chance to learn about the workforce housing plan and opportunities for involvement.

Rees Consulting, a Colorado-based workforce housing specialist, conducted a housing needs assessment last year and has been selected to help develop a plan that will increase the stock of affordable housing available to Whitefish workers, according to Whitefish Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland.

“We’ve been talking about it for years, and the problem’s only gotten worse,” Gartland said in the latest Chamber newsletter. “Despite the fact that the Whitefish economy is strong and growing steadily, it’s getting tougher and tougher to fill our critical job openings.

“We all know the story,” he said. “The folks who fuel our local economy — from entry-level workers to mid-level managers, educators, critical health-and-safety workers and budding entrepreneurs — they’re all struggling to afford to live in the city that they want to call home.”

During the open house, key findings from the 2-16 housing needs assessment will be shared. There also will be information about what other mountain towns are doing to house their workers.

Additionally, information about incentives, regulations, public/private partnerships, public and nonprofit initiatives and potential funding sources for workforce housing will be shared.

In preparation for Wednesday’s open house the Chamber is conducting an online survey to gather local opinions about the housing situation. It asks six questions that aim to gauge the current housing situation, identify top goals and give the housing task force direction about what types of housing are most needed. Go online to https://whitefishhousing.com and click on the “Community “Survey link under the “Get Involved” tab.

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