The Whitefish City Council last week revoked the permit for an airport hangar and denied an amendment that would have allowed trees to be cleared from a subdivision development. 

The City Council granted William McKinney a conditional use permit in July to build a 23-foot-high hangar to house four aircraft at the airport near the dog park.  

The council voted 4-1 to approve the permit. There was robust public opposition to the project and the Community Development Board had recommended denial of the project. 

Bob Horne, Kathleen McMahon, Phylis and Jack Quatman submitted a letter of appeal in October.  They claimed the zoning administrator made an error in his interpretation of the code and that they had been specifically aggrieved by the error.  

In December, the Community Development Board sided with appellants in a hearing about the hangar. After much discussion, the board voted 5-2 in favor of revoking the permit. 

The word “airport” is used in the code where the word “air strip” should have been, according to Whitefish City Planner Dave Taylor. That oversight caused the setback requirements used in the permit to be 20 feet rather than 300 feet. 

Since the code requires 300 feet, as it is written, the buildings on the airport grounds now are considered non-conforming and no other building could be built there, since it is impossible to abide the 300-foot setback from the airport. 

Staff recommended the council revoke the permit, which they did with a unanimous vote. 

“The decision before you is whether or not to revoke the CUP because pursuant to the Community Development Board’s decision, the applicant really cannot comply with our zoning code as it now stands,” Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs said. 

After the vote, Deputy Mayor Frank Sweeney said they “had no choice” and at the end of the meeting, suggested the city return the application fees to Mr. William McKinney, whom many councilors, repeatedly, over the course of the permitting and revoking process, referred to as “Billy.”  

THE WHITETAIL RIDGE subdivision developer asked the council to change one of the conditions of the permit to allow the clearing of some trees on individual lots. 

"They are asking to remove trees in the building envelopes as well as the right of way, all at the same time,” Compton-Ring said.  

Eric Mulcahy of Sands Surveying, representing the applicant, said logging on the building sites is going to happen anyway and doing so during the installation of infrastructure would be safer. 

“It's a matter of timing, safety and efficiency,” Mulcahy said. “They’re going to be taken out, regardless.” 

Councilor Ben Davis said he builds houses for a living and understands that it may be more efficient to clear the trees at this stage but made a motion to allow logging only in the utility right of way. 

“Sometimes [homeowners] tend to be a little bit more thoughtful about which trees to remove than what is proposed here,” Davis said. “For example, maybe they really like the big tree in the front yard, so they’ll shift the driveway.  

“I think a better neighborhood, a better finished product, can come out of leaving the trees on the main part of the lot and allowing homeowners to decide which ones they would like to keep,” he added. 

The council voted unanimously to amend the condition so that the trees on individual lots cannot be removed during the infrastructure installation, but they can be removed from the 10-foot utility easement along the front of each lot. 

THE COUNCIL gave staff the go-ahead to consider a request by the Tamarack Ridge HOA to change Merganser Court and Harlequin Court from private to public roadways. 

“They would maintain the swales and the stormwater drainage system as well as the asphalt path that’s on one side of the road,” Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman said. “The general difference between a public roadway and a private roadway is with sidewalk, curb and gutter.” 

The issue will come back to the council for further discussion at a later date. 

WHITEFISH COMMUNITY CENTER board of directors member Bill Schustrom requested funding to support staff compensation. Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith suggested the council wait to see what happens at the state Legislature to make an informed decision. 

The council directed Smith to see what a contribution to the Community Center would cost in the next budget cycle, which is currently being considered. 

Mayor John Muhlfeld, Councilors Giuseppe Caltabiano and Andy Feury were absent.