B&B gets OK from planning board

The Whitefish City-County Planning Board May 16 voted to recommend a conditional use permit for a bed and breakfast on West Second Street.

Ryan Zinke is requesting approval to turn a single-family home into the Snow Frog Inn. The proposal calls for the establishment to include six guest rooms and live-in manager quarters.

“When the trees were removed everyone saw that West Second Street needs some work,” Zinke said, referring to the reconstruction work on the street. “Second Street needs some improvement and not many people are willing to do that.”

Zinke previously proposed a similar plan last fall as part of a planned-unit development overlay that also included plans for a microbrewey on the north side of the highway. He pulled those plans before the city council could hold a hearing on the application.

Neighbors at the time said it the projects were too commercial for the area and would cause traffic and noise to an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Zinke returned with an updated plan that eliminated the brewery. The bed and breakfast was also scaled back to six guest rooms plus manager quarters in the one home. The original proposal included six guest rooms in one house plus three guest rooms and manager quarters in an adjacent house.

Ann Shaw Moran told the planning board last week that the new plan is more in-line with the neighborhood.

“I compliment him on the many improvements,” she said. “This has the potential to be compatible with the neighborhood and be good economically.”

Susan Prillman, whose home is overlooked by the bed and breakfast, acknowledged that the project has improved, but said she still has concerns.

“I’m happy to see the landscaping increased, but I have concerns about events there,” she said. “It’s so very close and noise travels. I fear the quiet enjoyment of my property could be a thing of the past.”

One of the conditions of approval is that outdoor events shall go no later than 10 p.m.

The city council will hold a hearing on the request on June 3 at city hall beginning at 7:10 p.m.