A city proposal to increase the business license fee for a short-term rental unit in Whitefish is the focus of a public hearing at the Whitefish City Council meeting on Monday.

Under the new proposal, the business license fee for a short-term rental unit would increase from $150 to $400, and the cost per unit for additional short-term rentals would jump from $50 to $400.

City staff was directed to address the short-term rental business licenses and permit application fees in a recent evaluation of the impacts of vacation rentals in the city.

Other business license fees also were reviewed, and are proposed to increase by a more modest amount, $5 to $10.

“The proposed increases in short-term rental fees are designed to help pay for increased effort in the city’s short-term rental licensing, registration and compliance monitoring process proposed by staff,” according to the staff report to the council. “The proposed fees are designed to help cover the costs of increased staff time, software and supplies to administer that process.”

The city proposes to reduce the initial short-term rental application fee from $100 to $50 to reflect the amount of time spent by staff on the initial processing of those licenses and permits, the report noted.

A second public hearing will consider a resolution extending the duration of the parking permit pilot program and fee for parking permits to Dec. 31, 2022.

The council adopted the Whitefish Parking Management Plan in 2019, which recommended the city create a parking permit program for the downtown area, and establish a committee to implement the program. The committee was created in February this year, but due to Covid-19 challenges, the council extended the duration of the committee through Oct. 31, 2022, to provide suggestions and feedback on the pilot program, the staff report states. In April the council established a parking permit pilot program for July and August and set a $20 per month permit fee.

“The intent for the pilot program was to alleviate the need for employees and business owners to leave work to move cars to avoid parking tickets; keeping convenient on-street parking open for customers of downtown businesses; minimizing the costs to the city of implementing the pilot program; and collecting data to form future parking management decisions,” the staff report said.

The committee felt two months wasn’t long enough to make decisions for future parking management.

IN OTHER business, the council is being asked to authorize the Public Works Department to proceed with a request for proposals to select a consultant and nominate a council member to serve on the consultant selection committee for the viaduct improvement project.

The city budgeted money in the current fiscal year budget to cover the local share of the viaduct project.

“We believe the city has the funds available to narrow the vehicular travel lanes on the viaduct to create a 12-foot-wide multi-use trail on both sides of the roadway,” the staff report notes. “This will involve the replacement and relocation of the existing jersey barriers to bring them up to current highway standards.”

The 2015 Downtown Business District Master Plan identified opportunities to increase the vitality of the downtown district, and the 2017 Connect Whitefish Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan calls for a connected and continuous network of well-maintained bicycle and pedestrian facilities linking key destinations.

The railroad viaduct has been long identified as a critical link to tie the north side of Whitefish to the downtown area on the south side of the viaduct and the viaduct improvement project is highlighted in both plans as one of the key elements to accomplish their goals, according to the staff report.

The meeting begins at 7:10 p.m. Monday at Whitefish City Hall. It can also be accessed remotely via Webex; go to the city website for instructions.

News editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 406-758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.