Residents and housing groups urge Whitefish council to act on planning commission conduct during growth-policy drafting

Community representatives and residents urged the Whitefish City Council on Oct. 6 to intervene in how the planning commission has conducted itself while drafting the city’s growth policy, saying the commission’s behavior has undermined broad public engagement and staff efforts.

Keegan Siebenaler, policy director for ShelterWF, told the council the planning commission had “shown disrespect for the time and work of city staff, for public comment and public visioning sessions,” and described a pattern in which members gave outsized opportunities to a single, recurring attendee after the formal public-comment period. “Not many members of the community that took their time to show up to that meeting felt like their feedback was valued by the city,” Siebenaler said.

The growth policy will…