Survey available for future land-use growth scenarios

An open house on Nov. 18 was held to inform the land use element of Vision Whitefish 2045, the city’s growth policy. Now, an online survey is available which presents the same material from that open house so community members who were unable to attend may provide feedback. 

At public visioning workshops in September, participants guided city staff and the supporting consultant team in beginning the future land use mapping process. 

Participants were asked to distinguish different areas in Whitefish on the basis of land uses and physical character to determine what type of future development should occur. The community was also invited to participate in an online version of the workshop activities during the month of October. 

Using this input, in combination with housing needs projections from the newly updated Whitefish Housing Needs Assessment and the draft housing element, as well as population projections from the Montana Department of Commerce, the consultant team, czb, developed potential future growth scenarios.  

At the open house Nov. 18, participants had the opportunity to vote and give feedback on their preferred potential growth scenarios based on location in town, surrounding types of streets, and the possible “place type” such as heritage urban neighborhood, suburban neighborhoods, mixed neighborhoods, community corridors, and natural/open space.  

The survey is open until 5 p.m. on Dec. 12 at https://engagewhitefish.com/vision-whitefish-2045 

Posters guiding participants through the open house are also posted online at the link above.  

The next upcoming Planning Commission work session on Vision Whitefish 2045 is Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.