In another small step aimed at growing the city's inventory of affordable housing, the Whitefish City Council tonight will consider softening zoning requirements for accessory dwellings, also known as guest houses or "mother-in-law apartments."

Current regulations require Whitefish homeowners obtain a conditional-use permit to build accessory apartments, a process that involves public hearings and can take several months. During a work session before its regular meeting Monday, the City Council will consider recommendations from the city's Strategic Housing Plan Steering Committee that would streamline the permitting process.

In a report to the council, the committee recommended requiring only an administrative conditional-use permit for accessory dwellings, "with the ability to ‘bump up’ to a full CUP if there is neighborhood concern."

The committee reported the city has permitted only 27 accessory dwelling units since completing a 2016 assessment that found a severe shortage of affordable housing in Whitefish.

"This is not many units and, as one of the Planning Board members noted, we are not going to solve all of our affordable housing issues one [accessory dwelling unit] at a time. They are, of course, another form of housing to encourage for local workers," the committee's report states. "However, as described in the Strategic Housing Plan, most accessory apartments are permitted to non-locals and are generally not part of the much-needed rental pool. This trend continues to be true."

The committee also reported the city has permitted 50 accessory dwellings since 2005, when it began requiring conditional-use permits, and 31 of those units have been built.

During the same timeframe, the city has issued building permits for 1,574 units. Accessory units account for less than 2% of total residential units being built in Whitefish, the report noted.

The council's work session will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday and its regular meeting will begin at 7:10 p.m. The meetings will be held remotely via Webex video conferencing. Agendas and instructions for tuning in can be found on the city's website.

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com