The Whitefish City Council last week approved amendments to zoning and subdivision regulations after a discussion about how to deal with a new state law that would allow 60-foot buildings downtown.

Planning and Building Director David Taylor explained that the proposed amendments are implementations of the Montana Land Use Planning Act and state law requirements. 

Councilor Ben Davis described the amendments as a “band-aid fix” to be followed by a more comprehensive update of the zoning regulations. More amendments will be made this year, so the regulations align with the newly adopted community plan, Vision Whitefish 2045. 

“That will include much more robust changes, including zoning map changes, rewriting a bunch of our zoning districts to comply with the place type maps that were adopted,” Taylor said.  

Taylor said phase 2 would involve a planning firm to help the city make the zoning consistent with Vision Whitefish 2045 land use plan and place type maps, as well as a code audit.  

The city will also look into a unified development code, wherein the subdivision and zoning regulations are combined, like in Missoula and Bozeman. 

Council also discussed downtown height restrictions and what could be done by Oct. 1, when the new state law allowing 60-foot building heights downtown goes into effect. 

Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs said the Council could “just pull it out and we’ll deal with it in October.” 

Councilor Steve Qunell directly addressed state Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, who was in the audience, about the new 60-foot building height law. 

“There is nobody in this room who thinks it's a good idea to have 60-foot buildings that are all residential, with no parking, in our downtown,” he said, adding that the new law will not reduce the price of housing. “I think the state Legislature needs to take that very seriously.” 

He asked Fern to inform the Legislature about the "unintended consequences” of the bill that was “rammed through.” 

Qunell added that trying to find a way to protect Whitefish’s downtown, the economic engine of the town, is “infuriating.”’ 

“There is absolutely no reason to have 60-foot buildings there for any purpose,” he said. “It needs to remain what it is.” 

AN APPEAL of a decision by the building administrator for a permit must be based on impacts that were previously unforeseen. The appeal must be made by an aggrieved party, but the question of who has standing for an appeal is up in the air. 

“We don’t know,” said Jacobs. “It’s part of having a brand-new law. What is an aggrieved party?” 

Taylor said it is an issue that all cities under the new law are facing. 

The Council voted to approve the zoning amendments, 6-0, after putting an Oct. 1 effective date on the 60-foot height allowance in all zones. 

Taylor gave Council an overview of the changes in the subdivision regulations. There used to be multiple plat types. Now, there is only a preliminary plat under the new law. 

The five-day element review is not a 15-day review and a 20-business day review of the application. 

The public process, effective until June 30, 2027, begins with a review by the planning administrator, public comment and a 15-day notification, and ends with a final decision by the planning administrator. 

The decision is appealable to the Planning Commission, then the City Council, then the district court. 

COUNCILOR Rebecca Norton asked for a proclamation recognizing Pride Month and was supported by five of the six councilors. Councilor Giuseppe Caltabiano was in opposition and said he felt making a such a proclamation was “very discriminatory” to people who are not “in those alphabet letters,” referring to the LGBTQ+ acronym. 

Reporter Julie Engler can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.