Strip zoning

Last Monday, I spoke to the Whitefish City Council in opposition to the changes proposed for the WB-2 Zone which would "increase the number of allowed permitted uses to include convenience stores, sporting goods stores, personal services, etc., and the allowed conditional uses to include department and discount retail stores, as well as shopping malls and shopping centers, including general retail within."

Why did I do this? Because I believe that the charm and uniqueness of Whitefish are at risk. Charm and uniqueness are the words I hear when we have guests come to town — or I meet a stranger from Atlanta or Oregon.

It's always about how different Whitefish is from any other small town in America. That's because for 30 years the policy of Whitefish has been to promote an economically healthy and vibrant downtown through zoning policies that promote downtown retail growth over retail strip-mall sprawl.

The recent enhancements made to Third Street and Central Avenue are a good example. We need to continue to pursue this policy to preserve our downtown while putting in place a stronger mechanism to enforce our existing zoning WB-2 regulations.

Please contact your representatives and ask them to vote against the proposed zoning changes for the WB-2 Zone.

Bob Blickenstaff

Whitefish