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Climate Action Plan committee urges study of downtown metered parking; downtown business owner opposes meters
Summary
Whitefish Climate Action Plan Committee asked council to investigate metered parking downtown as a tool to reduce car trips and fund transit; a downtown business owner and councilors urged caution and suggested deferring discussion until a full council is present.
Members of Whitefish’s Climate Action Plan Committee on Jan. 21 asked the City Council to investigate the possibility of establishing metered parking in downtown Whitefish as a potential funding stream for public transportation and to address car dependency.
Dakota Whitman, chair of the Climate Action Plan Committee, told council the committee recommended an investigation only and was not formally recommending full implementation. Whitman cited the city’s car dependency and said transportation-related personal vehicle miles are the Flathead Valley’s largest greenhouse gas source. He described data provided by Julie Dixon (Dixon Resources Unlimited), which the committee reviewed, and said paid parking in other communities has, in many cases, been associated with increased commerce and could raise “potential hundreds of thousands of dollars” for transportation projects if a metered system were implemented.
Nathan Dugan, another committee member, reiterated the committee’s request for an investigation and said the committee recognizes the council could determine the approach would not be beneficial. The Climate Action Plan Committee’s letter recommending investigation appears in the council packet.
A downtown business owner, Rhonda Fitzgerald, spoke during public comment saying Whitefish previously had parking meters and removed them because they deterred customers; she said downtown property owners already pay a special improvement district (SID) charge on property tax to defray parking-structure expenses and that meters would be a deterrent to local commerce. Kirk Vomfel, representing applicants for a consent-agenda item, offered to answer questions about a separate consent item.
Council discussion included a recommendation from the mayor to defer any substantive direction to staff until the council is fully seated, given three councilors were excused from the meeting. No formal motion or vote was taken; staff will place the item for discussion when the full council is expected to be present if council desires further consideration.
