The owners of Sweet Peaks Ice Cream are seeking city approval to open an ice cream manufacturing facility on U.S. Highway 93 South near Safeway.

The business has applied for a conditional use permit to allow for the facility and ice cream retail store in the former Dos Amigos restaurant and Best Bet Casino. The building is currently vacant.

The request, along with three other items on the agenda, will go before the Planning Board on Thursday, June 18. The board meets at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Sweet Peaks plans to remodel the building and facade, add landscaping and provide indoor and outdoor seating for ice cream patrons. There will also be additional room for manufacturing and expansion, and additional commercial tenant space in the building.

Light manufacturing is a conditional use in the WB-2 zone where the building is located.

The owner plans to encourage pedestrian and bicycle access to the property by connecting the existing sidewalk along the highway to the interior of the project and installing bike racks, according to the planning staff report.

Staff is recommending approval of the request subject to nine conditions.

The planning board is also set to consider a request by Big Mountain River LLC for a residential subdivision with 20 townhouse units on West Second Street. The applicant is seeking a preliminary plat to develop four two-unit buildings and four three-unit buildings.

The property is currently vacant and is zoned low-density multi-family residential.

The developer previously submitted the request for the May planning board meeting, but after hearing from the Whitefish Housing Authority that they would be more supportive of units rather than a fee-in-lieu of affordable housing, the developer reworked the project.

To comply with the Legacy Homes program, the applicant is proposing to develop three deed restrict affordable units and pay the fee in lieu for the fourth unit in the amount of $116,930.

The development would include a new single access off of West Second Street and a private road would loop through the property for access to all units. There would also be a private sidewalk system and a new paved trail along the western edge of the property would be open to the public.

Parking would be provided with two-care garages and two surface parking areas around the site.

The project would provide open space areas to the north, along the Whitefish River, and to the west. The open space area to the west would contain a 10-foot wide paved pedestrian bicycle path within a 20-foot easement and this trail is planned to connect West Second to the new trail system in the 95 Karrow project to the north.

The applicant is proposing to protect the Whitefish River with a buffer and setback meeting the Water Quality Protection regulations.

There are some building sites within 200-feet of the river on slopes that likely exceed 10%, according to the staff report, and thus based on Water Quality Protection regulations will require a geotechnical letter supporting construction of the building.

Planning staff is recommending approval with 23 conditions.

Also on the agenda:

• A request by John Shigo and Christina Larsen for a conditional use permit to construct an accessory apartment in an existing structure at 725 Somers Ave.

• A request from Pamela Secrease for a conditional use permit to construct an accessory apartment above a new garage at 909 Kalispell Ave.