The Whitefish Community Development Board voted unanimously to recommend approval for the expansion of the Riverfront Hotel, located at 920 and 940 Spokane Ave. The expansion would repurpose the office building to the south of the existing hotel. 

The Riverfront Hotel was formerly the Pine Lodge Inn. The proposed plan is to convert the existing office building into nine one- to three-bedroom suites with full kitchens, while leaving the mass, scale and footprint unchanged.  

The remodeled units would have access to amenities in the main building. 

Whitefish Senior Planner Wendy Compton-Ring said a condition was added to the permit to prevent the use of the units as short-term rentals. 

The board also voted to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for Samuel Dauenhauer to use a beer and wine license in an existing café, Wild Coffee, at 309 Central Ave.  

No changes to the site or building are proposed. 

The applicant was approved for a conditional use permit to use the beer and wine license at a previous business in 2021 and now wishes to transfer the license to Wild Coffee. 

“The idea is to keep it pretty limited but offer the occasional mimosa or lunch beer,” said Dauenhauer. “It’s a great community space that I want to keep the integrity of that, and similar hours – not open past 5 o’clock.” 

The board voted to recommend approval of a text amendment to the city code. 

The Whitefish City Council approved an amendment to the zoning code regarding formula businesses, necessitating a change to the architectural review standards to reflect the change from “formula retail” to “formula business.” 

Compton-Ring reminded Board Chair Whitney Beckham, and members Toby Scott and Jon Heberling, that their terms are up at the end of this calendar year and if they’d like to continue serving, they need to contact the city clerk. 

These items are scheduled to be heard by the Whitefish City Council on Nov. 3.