'CAO-lite' fails to muster four votes

Palmer says ordinance is for water quality, not building hazards caused by steep slopes

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Ten people addressed the Whitefish City Council about six proposed amendments to the Critical Areas Ordinance at their Oct. 6 meeting.

City planner Wendy Comp-ton-Ring said the amendments would reduce the number of affected lots from about 10,000 to 3,000.

Several councilors disagreed with the Whitefish City-County Planning Board's recommendation to limit the requirement for site-stability analysis (the so-called "matrix") to only steep slopes that are within 400 feet of Whitefish Lake or 200 feet of other water bodies.

Councilors Nancy Wood-ruff and John Muhlfeld, however, said they wanted all properties in the city's jurisdiction with slopes steeper than 40 percent to undergo the analysis. Woodruff cited work done by Realtor Tom Thomas on Big Mountain alongside Hellroaring Creek as an example of a site that needed review.

Councilor Nick Palmer disagreed, saying the ordinance was meant to protect water quality, not the safety of structures on steep slopes. He said the Thomas property was within 200 feet of Hellroaring Creek, and he voted against the amendments.

The 3-1 vote in favor failed because an ordinance requires four votes. This left developer Bill Halama in limbo. One of the amendments would require a 20-foot setback at the top of the bank above the Whitefish River, but Halama has already spent significant funds building a pad and laying utilities for a 25,000-square-foot commercial center near the new Walgreens store.

Halama said he paid for a geotechnical analysis, which he provided to the city for free. That information can be used by the city to construct a new bike path along the riverbank on an easement he also gave the city. The councilors appeared to support an exemption for Halama when the amendments come back.

In other city council news:

? A neighbor of Roger Wold, the Park Avenue property owner investigated under the city's decay ordinance back in July, complained to the council that serious problems remain.

Jeff Anderson said part of the compost pile on Wold's property has been cleaned up, and rotting food has been removed from five freezers Wold has in his backyard, but the area still smells awful.

City planner David Taylor said city officials and a county health inspector toured Wold's property after it was partially cleaned up and couldn't detect any unusual smell at the time. And since Wold licensed one of the suspected junk vehicles, the city opted not to tow it away.

City attorney John Phelps said he visited Wold's property several times and couldn't find anything causing a strong odor. One of the freezers had become unplugged, but the food inside had been removed. Phelps said he expected the problems will continue.

? A request to rezone 46 acres in Haugen Heights from agricultural to one-acre residential failed to get the four votes needed for approval. The vote was 3-2 in favor, with councilors Palmer and Turner Askew opposed and Shirley Jacobson absent.

Several councilors expressed concern about whether the property might be developed with septics, rather than hooked up to city sewer. Councilor John Muhlfeld said the Whitefish Lake Institute has found evidence of sewage not far away in the lake.

City planners said those types of issues are generally handled during subdivision review. But the property is located outside the city limits and could soon fall under county jurisdiction.

? The council mustered the four votes needed to approve a zoning text amendment allowing professional offices on Baker Avenue between Fourth and 10th streets.

The amendment failed on Sept. 2 after councilor Shirley Jacobson voted in opposition, saying more affordable housing would disappear for commercial purposes. She was absent this time around.

? A new traffic light on the U.S. 93 strip at JP Road could be operational before winter, public works director John Wilson said. The council unanimously approved the project.

Funding for the $99,045 light would come from the JP Road special-improvement district, the Great Northern Heights developers and the city's street fund.

? The council unanimously approved two construction bids from Sandry Construction totaling $1.35 million for improvements to the Viking Lift Station and new sewer mains on Wisconsin Avenue.

The project completes the city's obligations as ordered by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality after several sewer overflow incidents in recent years.

? A request by Kristin Veneman to operate a daycare at the Church of the Nazarene was unanimously approved without public comment. Askew applauded the request, saying the city needs more daycare facilities.