A public hearing on the long-awaited Wisconsin Avenue Corridor Plan tops the Whitefish Planning Board agenda on Thursday, Feb. 15.

The hearing was postponed in January when the board had too many other proposals to consider.

The corridor plan is the result of a nine-month planning process that included numerous neighborhood meetings to determine how the corridor should develop over the next 20 years. Whitefish consulting firm Applied Communications drafted the plan in conjunction with Robert Peccia and Associates, GSBS Richman Consulting, the Wisconsin Avenue Steering Committee and the Whitefish Planning Office.

It examines future land uses, motorized and non-motorized transportation, infrastructure, economic performance and potential improvements.

Wisconsin Avenue is a vital transportation link between the ski resort and downtown Whitefish and also is the primary connection to Whitefish Lake. It’s a two-lane secondary highway maintained by the Montana Department of Transportation. A separate paved bike and pedestrian path runs alongside the street.

It’s a busy road, with an average annual daily traffic count of 11,500 vehicles, and traffic volumes are expected to increase as the corridor continues to be developed, the draft plan points out. Growth at Whitefish Mountain Resort directly impacts Wisconsin Avenue. Over the past decade, skier visits have climbed from 297,000 to 346,000 last ski season.

The plan studies the area between Edgewood Drive, which parallels the railroad tracks, and the intersection of Big Mountain Road and East Lakeshore Drive.

The board has two other public hearings scheduled.

The Reisch Family Partnership is asking for a conditional-use permit to expand the Montana Tap House at 845 Wisconsin Ave. The business was approved for a bar two years ago with a conditional-use permit. The applicant is requesting to construct an 868-square-foot addition onto the south side of the existing building to add an internal restaurant. In that business zone, an expansion of a commercial building where the total floor area is over 4,000 square feet requires a conditional-use permit. The existing building is currently 6,150 square feet.

With the proposed addition, the building will be approximately 7,018 square feet. Access to the site is currently from Wisconsin Avenue, and will not be modified with this application. The applicant is proposing four additional parking spaces for the expansion of the structure

The final hearing deals with a request by Whitefish 57 LLC, Eagle Enterprises and Marie Hedman for a growth policy amendment that affects land use on about 70 acres along U.S. 93 South. The applicants are proposing to amend the land-use designation for five parcels from suburban and rural land use to urban and high density land use.

The existing general commercial designation is proposed to expand to the west to align with the future Baker Avenue extension. The purpose of the growth-policy map amendment is to facilitate future zone-change requests and development of the properties through future subdivisions as infill development, according to the planning staff report.

The applicants have agreed to set aside 10 percent of any housing development for affordable housing units, the report noted. That affordable housing could include single-family homes, apartments or townhouses and may involve partnerships with the Whitefish Housing Authority or Habitat for Humanity.

The properties are partially developed with Austin Funeral Home and two single-family homes and accessory structures, but otherwise includes wide swaths of open space.

The planning staff has recommended approval of the growth policy amendment, subject to several caveats, including a recommendation to retain a 25-acre portion of the area with a rural designation. The area contains wetlands and a stormwater conveyance.

The board meets at 6 p.m. Thursday at Whitefish City Hall.

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