Whitefish planning commission reverts new —heritage downtown— designation after residents raise preservation, parking and flood concerns

The Whitefish Vision 2045 Planning Commission voted Feb. 11 to change the recently introduced —heritage downtown neighborhood— place type back to a —heritage urban neighborhood—, adding specific carve-outs and limits intended to protect the character of long-established neighborhoods near downtown.

The vote followed more than two hours of public comment and a presentation from consultants with CZB, who had proposed the new place type to reflect existing W4 zoning and multifamily patterns on the south side of downtown. Residents who live near Central and O'Brien Streets urged the commission to retain protections for older, lower-density streets, citing parking constraints, narrow dead-end streets and flood-prone land along the Whitefish River.

Andrew Strong, a Central Avenue resident who submitted a signed neighborhood letter, told the commission the new designation "opens the door for development and developers to come in and build multifamily units on very small lots that will stress an already stressed parking situation." He urged the commission to restore the prior heritage-urban character for areas south of Fourth Street.

Consultant Thomas of CZB said the team would implement the commission's direction by revising the place-type descriptions and preparing targeted language and a map update for staff review. "We would allow primary single-family and duplex, and call out limited triplex and quadplex development west of and alongside Spokane Avenue," Thomas said, describing that as a reasoned compromise to reflect existing zoning while reducing the maximum building scale in closely settled historic neighborhoods.

The chair moved the reversion and carve-out language during the meeting; the motion was seconded and passed by hand vote. Commissioners directed staff and the consultants to draft the exact text and to deliver an updated map and wording ahead of the next packet distribution so the changes can be included in the formal public hearing materials.

Next steps: staff and CZB will supply revised place-type text and maps to commissioners (consultants said they could provide draft language by the next day), and the commission will take the item again at upcoming public hearings. The commission's action is a policy direction in the growth policy process; final zoning consistent with the plan would come in a later, separate zoning implementation step.