Developers of the proposed 2nd Street Residences subdivision in Whitefish have reconfigured the project with fewer apartments and less density in an effort to address neighborhood concerns.

The revised plans will be presented at a public hearing Thursday during the Whitefish City-County Planning Board’s meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall.

Sean Averill and William MacDonald of Community Infill Partners first presented the project to the Planning Board in March, asking for a planned unit development and zone change to accommodate a 174-unit subdivision, of which 164 of the units were to be apartments spread over 17 buildings north of the intersection of East Second Street and Armory Road.

The property is located in open fields that have been farmed for hay through the years.

After neighbors testified the project was too dense for an area with a traditionally agricultural feel, the developers asked for more time to revamp the project and address concerns about neighborhood impact. 

A public hearing was continued in May with some changes, but MacDonald and Averill asked for an extension to further enhance the design a second time.

They now have reduced the number of units by 30, to 143, with a density of 6.02 units per acre, compared to the original 7.31 per acre.

The number of apartments now totals 92, down from 164, while the number of single-family homes has increased from one to 16. Of the single-family dwellings, 15 will have “mother-in-law” accessory apartments. Twenty attached condominium units are in the new design.

“We think we’ve made a lot of compromises,” Averill said. “We have 70 percent green space; it’s pretty amazing actually.

“Obviously when you develop you can’t please everyone, but we’ve tried to lessen the impacts as much as possible.”  

A key change in the revised plan is the elimination of the 16- and eight-plex buildings.

“The neighbors weren’t super thrilled with the massing,” he said.

Those long apartment complexes will be replaced with a configuration of much smaller buildings and the apartments will be tucked behind other buildings, closer to the railroad tracks. Buildings will be clustered to protect large areas of open space and create an “urban pocket rental community.”

A series of pedestrian trails will run throughout the development connecting the buildings to each other and to public streets.

“There really isn’t a better site where you could create this kind of community,” Averill said. “Infill projects are what the city should strive for.

The developers will take advantage of density bonuses by providing affordable housing. Fourteen dwellings will be deed-restricted rental units for moderate-income families and will be managed by the Whitefish Housing Authority.

“No developer to date has done that” in Whitefish, Averill pointed out. “These are homes for teachers and firefighters, young professionals and professionals in general. Families in general are hard-pressed to find places to live in Whitefish. Every employer I talk to says there’s a need for housing.”

A neighborhood meeting was held June 19 to further address residents’ concerns, but after the revised site plan was submitted to the Planning Office, the city received one letter in support and six in opposition. Continuing concerns are increased traffic, opposition to multifamily development in a single-family zone and that the project is still out of character with the neighborhood.

In addition to approval of the planned unit development for the project, Community Infill Partners is asking to change the zoning on one parcel from one-family residential to two-family residential, and from agricultural to estate residential on two other parcels.

The city planning staff is recommending approval of the revised project.

IN OTHER business at Thursday’s meeting, the board will hold a public hearing on a request from Rob Pero, on behalf of Hilltop Partners, for a planned unit development overlay and preliminary plat for a 42-lot subdivision on 6.1 acres in Great Northern Heights, behind Western Building Center. The project includes 21 duplex townhouses.

The City Council is expected to hold public hearings on both the 2nd Street Residences and Great Northern Heights projects on Aug. 19.

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