It doesn't hurt to dream big.

Whitefish took that adage to heart when it commissioned a master plan for its downtown sector. The results of a two-year community process were unveiled last week, revealing an array of projects with the potential for roughly $85 million in private and public investment.

Among the more grandiose ideas is the Whitefish Landing, a manmade extension of the Whitefish River that would run along the railroad to an area near the viaduct. Envisioned are resort facilities around the landing and a pedestrian underpass that would connect with a town square at the existing park near the train depot.

Projects such as the Whitefish Landing would come about only if and when private developers see an opportunity to make money creating such an amenity. There would likely be environmental cleanup issues with the railroad property, so it's anyone's guess whether it's feasible to connect the river to the downtown area.

What's more important in the plan is the framework it provides for priority "catalyst" projects expected to play out during the next few years. Those include public parking structures, a new city hall, Central Avenue improvements and the development of Great Northern Square as downtown open space.

The plan also literally establishes a road map of how the U.S. 93 reconstruction should be completed through the downtown area. That pending highway project became the impetus for a detailed master plan. Without an idea of what the community wants in the way of transportation, Whitefish might have ended up with a four-lane highway barreling through its treasured and quaint central shopping area.

Downtown business leaders should be credited for having the foresight to create The Heart of Whitefish, the nonprofit group that guided the master-plan project and helped raise a portion of the money to pay the consultants.

The selection of the Portland-based Crandall Arambula consulting firm, which specializes in downtown revitalization, was another feather in Whitefish's cap. The knowledgeable small firm involved the community so thoroughly that when it came time for the public hearing on the plan, the room was filled to capacity and most of the input was positive.

The downtown plan, once approved by the City Council, would become part of Whitefish's overall growth policy.

It's the year of the master plan in Whitefish. In addition to shaping a new growth policy from the city's 1996 master plan, the city is also putting the finishing touches on a stormwater master plan that also was just completed. Master plans for the water and sewer systems are still under way for the resort town.

Given the impacts of its rapid growth, Whitefish can be commended for striving to be one step ahead of the development. This level of comprehensive planning should ease some of the city's growing pains over the next couple of decades.