2008 building numbers have ups and downs

While overall development in Whitefish has slowed down, the city’s planning department reports the number of new single-family homes and commercial projects in 2008 exceeded 2007, and a record number of remodels and additions were filed at the office.

According to the department’s annual report, 29 building permits were issued for single-family homes last year, compared to 22 in 2007. Twenty-five permits for commercial projects were issued in 2008, compared to 18 in 2007, and remodeling permits increased from 76 to 94 from 2007 to 2008.

The total number of new residential units, however, pales in comparison to the boom years of 2002 through 2006. The biggest year was 2005, when 292 permits were issued, compared to 35 total in 2008.

The number of preliminary and final plats declined dramatically last year, compared to the earlier boom years. Half as many lots were created in 2008 as in 2007. Meanwhile, lakeshore permits dropped by about a third from 2007 to 2008.

The past building boom reflects the significant population increase in Whitefish since 1990. While the city’s population grew about 15 percent between 1990 and 2000, it increased about 60 percent over the past seven years. Added together, the city’s population increased about 85 percent from 1990 through 2007.

Whitefish has the fastest growing population of all cities in Montana, followed by Kalispell. It has also grown geographically from roughly 4.42 square miles in 2000 to 11.62 square miles. If one subtracts the city’s annexation of Whitefish Lake in 2005, the city grew by about two square miles since 2000.

One set of numbers saw a significant increase — land-use permitting activity. Last year, the city issued 144 permits and preliminary determinations for its new critical areas ordinance, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all land-use permits and reviews.

While most land-use permit activity remained about the same from 2007 to 2008, the number of architectural reviews dropped by more than half from 38 to 17.

The planning department’s forecast for new construction is that “2009 will continue to be a bit slower for multi-family, but we should still see a large number of new high-end custom homes, as well as a high number of remodels,” the report states.

Despite the slow-down in growth, the department has remained busy. Staff last year investigated 323 noxious weed violations, 13 lakeshore violations, 46 sign violations, 56 decay violations and 82 zoning violations. They also got back to long-range planning.

“Due to the construction slow-down, staff has finally had the breathing room to tackle several important long-range projects that were on the back-burner for years during our crazy growth spurt,” city planning director David Taylor said.

City planners cite a long list of projects they hope to take on this year, including completing a citywide transportation plan, updating subdivision regulations, adopting an extension of services plan, updating the lakeshore protection regulations, updating the architectural review standards and evaluating character-based zoning standards to protect neighborhoods.