Whitefish considers northside subdivision

A proposal to develop a 12-lot residential subdivision on just over 1 acre at the corner of Colorado Avenue and Denver Street will be considered by the Whitefish City Council during a public hearing tonight.

FNB Investments, LLC, of Bend, Oregon, is asking for preliminary-plat approval to build 10 townhomes and two single-family lots.

The majority of the lots have frontage along either Colorado Avenue or Denver Street, but would be accessed from an internal privately maintained dead-end alley. One of the single-home lots would have no frontage along either street, but instead would be accessed from a private internal road.

The developer would be required to pay cash-in-lieu of sidewalks along the Denver Street frontage, according to the Planning Office staff report.

While the city planning staff has recommended approval of the project, the Whitefish Planning Board last month unanimously recommended denial of the request on the basis the plat as submitted did not meet the minimum lot standards for that WR-3 low-density multifamily residential zoning district.

The project applicant, Frank Zolfo, told the Planning Board at its Feb. 21 meeting he had just been informed of the lot-size discrepancy and had an electronic version of a redesigned plat with lot configurations that would meet zoning regulations. The new design reduces the common area space.

Neighborhood concerns expressed to the Planning Board included the potential loss of mature trees on the property, traffic and a lack of sidewalks.

The council meets at 7:10 p.m. Monday, March 4, at Whitefish City Hall.