Council denies Taylor Hill PUD after hours of public comment and staff review

The Whitefish City Council on Oct. 20 denied Ordinance 25-13, the Taylor Hill Whitefish PUD application proposing 24 townhome units in seven buildings on approximately 2.85 acres at Baker Avenue and West Tenth Street.

Council members voted 4–1 to deny the ordinance after more than two hours of staff presentation, applicant testimony and public comment. Councilmember Giuseppe Castaldo (identified in the transcript as Giuseppe) was the lone dissenting vote.

City planning staff recommended approval with 18 conditions and presented project details including a density of 8.77 dwelling units per acre, a 20-foot internal loop road, seven buildings with two- and four-unit configurations, a proposed secondary gated emergency access at the northwest corner and a central southeast open-space/stormwater area. Staff reported the applicant proposed a fee-in-lieu equal to 10% of the units for affordable‑housing mitigation and said under the newly proposed Legacy Homes fee schedule the payment could be about $907,000.

“Staff recommended approval subject to 18 conditions of approval,” Planning staff member Wendy said during her presentation, listing required elements such as final engineering review by the fire marshal, a tree-preservation plan, and stormwater design meeting city standards.

The applicant and design team described the proposal as an infill project intended to preserve the existing Castle building as a…