A dozen Whitefish High School students presented ideas for Vision Whitefish 2045, the city of Whitefish’s growth policy update, to the Planning Commission.  

“This is the biggest project we do all year and personally, for me, it’s the thing I look forward to when the school year starts,” Whitefish High School social studies teacher Wesley Webb said.  

Students in government classes began working in teams to brainstorm and research ideas for the growth policy papers in the fall.  

City staff made trips to the high school to talk with Webb’s class and give guidance. Later, the Writing Coaches of Montana visited the classroom to help students polish their reports. 

At the end of the project, each student, Webb said, felt “they were actually doing a real thing.” While 120 of Webb’s students completed the project, 12 gave presentations in the City Council chambers Thursday evening. 

Webb told the commission that although the city is nearing the end of the process of updating the growth policy, the presentations were meant to give the commission an idea of what young people are thinking. 

Tilly Daniels and Allison Ponti said the city should establish compost-friendly trash receptacles and incentives for businesses to use compostable to-go products. 

“If we add composable single use containers, it will eliminate plastic waste, support environmental sustainability and encourage eco-friendly tourism,” Daniels said. 

Bjorn Bungner, Brody Morrison and Lovey Gallagher suggested the growth policy allow for the creation of bike-only pathways and implement more cycling events. They suggested a bike path on East Edgewood Drive. 

Commission member Marti Brandt asked if the students had ideas about other places a bike path might be located. 

Morrison said Big Mountain Road would be a great place for a dedicated bike path because he bikes it often and has had a “couple close calls.” 

A change in policy to allow developers to pay a fee for regional stormwater treatment rather than install individual onsite systems was the idea shared by Avery Theis. 

“This approach improves water quality, reduces long-term costs, and gives the city control over maintenance and performance,” she said.  

Avery Sorenson discussed housing affordability in Whitefish and suggested the establishment of a social housing policy, and Koru Larimore proposed installing roadside vegetation barriers along major streets. He said trees and shrubs along the roads would reduce noise and the amount of harmful emissions entering neighboring areas. 

Elijah Bergeson encouraged density in all new developments, and said urban sprawl leads to habitat destruction, increased pollution and resource depletion. 

Agricultural land use was Claire Helmstetler’s topic, and Jack Grant suggested expanding the Mountain Climber transit system.  

Scott Schram, Jesse Booker and Amelia Krezowski supported the pedestrianization of Central Avenue from Railway Street to Fourth Street, with bisecting east-west streets. The team said local businesses would be stimulated by increased foot traffic and pedestrian congestion would be minimized. 

“It would allow pedestrians who require mobility aids to more easily access downtown Whitefish,” Krezowski said. 

It was the third year in a row that Webb’s students have presented ideas to the city about the growth policy and he is already looking forward to next year. 

Commission Chair Whitney Beckham said she appreciated the students’ work and that their ideas were helpful. 

“Those are the things that we work with, and they come up from the community a lot, so thank you for a new perspective on those ideas,” Beckham said. “We want to invite you to come to the next growth policy work session, Feb. 4.” 

The student presentations are available on the city’s YouTube channel.

    Jesse Booker, Amelia Krezowski, Scott Schram, Lovey Gallagher, Bjorn Bungner, Avery Sorensen, Tilly Daniels, Brody Morrison, Clare Helmstetler, Jack Grant, Elijah Bergeson, Avery Theis, Koru Larimore, and Allison Ponti with teacher, Wesley Webb.