Looking Back: Planning Board not feeling the love
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 5 days, 17 hours AGO
Eye-to-eye on the HIghline Trail, two mountain goats take a break from licking minerals from the Glacier Park byway in 1986. The couple seemed to be parents of a kid that was eating wildflowers about ten feet away. (Steve Schunk photo)
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
Aug. 5, 1976
Proposed plans for the Whitefish sewage treating plant were presented by City Engineer Dennis Carver at the City Council meeting. Representing the Kalispell engineering firm of Morrison and Maierle, Carver explained the new Environmental Protection Agency requirements and funding program available to help communities finance the required modifications of their facilities. After evaluating various sewage treatment procedures according to their effectiveness, initial expense and maintenance costs, Carver proposed a secondary system consisting of an aerated pond, a settling pond, and a chlorinating device. Using this system, the effluent discharged into the Whitefish River would be 98% purified, he said.
40 Years Ago
Aug. 6, 1986
Buildings taller than 35 feet would apparently be allowed in Whitefish. Although an official vote on the issue was not taken at its meeting, the Whitefish City Council passed a motion directing the administrative staff to draft the change to the zoning regulations. The completed ordinance would need two official readings at council meetings with public hearings before adoption. The city's zoning documents, written about three years ago, set a 35-foot limit on buildings. The change was asked for by representatives of Sterling Investments, owner of the land on Whitefish Lake that was the home of the Viking Lodge. They announced plans to build a major hotel on the site, which is the only land zoned resort business in the city limits or on the shore of Whitefish Lake. One concept called for a 108 room, 73-foot-tall convention center.
30 Years Ago
Aug. 8, 1996
The Whitefish City County Planning Board was lonely. "We had a hearing and nobody came." Planning on the table was a proposal to change the Whitefish zoning regulations in three major ways. It would reduce the allowable height of businesses and commercially zoned areas. It would require businesses who built in the downtown business district to provide. Parking, and it would limit the use of alleyway alleys. Because these changes could dramatically affect business and Whitefish, the board did not feel comfortable making a decision on the subject without anyone there to speak on the issues. They tabled the proposal to give representatives from all interested parties the opportunity to attend their next meeting.
20 Years Ago
Aug. 3, 2006
The fire season hit Glacier Park this past weekend like a freight train. A strong Rocky Front winds blew 200–300-foot flames down a mile-wide swath South of Saint Mary Lake. The fire, which started near Red Eagle Lake on Friday, blew up to 22,000 acres by Monday as it moved east across dry timber toward the resort town of Saint Mary. By Saturday, the fire had jumped U.S. Highway 89 south of Saint Mary as a calm morning turned blustery by late afternoon, kicking up flames. Trees were burned along several miles of Hwy. As 40-60 mph winds fanned flames across dry timber.
10 Years Ago
Aug. 3, 2016
Young families moving into Whitefish should help keep local school enrollment steady over the next decade. The forecast comes from a new demographic study compiled for Whitefish School District as it plans for future growth and explores options to rebuild Muldown Elementary. According to the preliminary study by McKibben Demographics, district enrollment was expected to increase by 6.7%, or 113 students, between now and 2020. A slight dip is then predicted between 2021 and 2025. Total district enrollment last school year was 1676.