Arim Mountain Gateway

Who are your backers?

Flathead Families for Responsible Growth is composed of a vast array of citizens from our community – from those who live in downtown Whitefish, to the far end of the lake to Kalispell and everywhere in between. Most everyone who has been working on this opposition is doing so in a volunteer capacity and for a variety of personal and community-oriented reasons. But we are all interested in responsible and reasonable development in our community.

We have hired professionals to help us sort out the facts so that we can informatively speak to the issues at hand such as water quality, traffic, impact on city services such as sewer and water and the like. A development of this magnitude will have great implications to our community and we need to invest the time, money and effort into making sure all factors have been considered and appropriate studies have been done.

Our support comes from across the Whitefish community and the Flathead Valley. It is a broadly based group of people who are passionate about our town and want to see responsible development and growth. There are people in Iron Horse who support our opposition to the Mountain Gateway Development and others who do not.

This represents no more than a “not in my backyard” stand

This is a Whitefish and Flathead Valley Issue. It is not isolated to the neighborhoods near Lakeshore Drive and Big Mountain Road. If you take the time to review the petition, lots of folks who signed it and left public comments do not live north of the viaduct but appreciate the implications on our community’s character, the traffic congestion and safe egress issues, and how challenging it will make recreation north of the viaduct.

If everything proposed is consistent with the Wisconsin Corridor long term growth plan, what’s your basis for objecting?

The Wisconsin Corridor Plan is inherently conflicting for this area of our community. The majority of the Plan calls for “development that is complementary to the existing mix of uses while maintaining the neighborhood scale and character in different parts of the corridor”. The vision set out for this specific area “Big Mtn Road Key Development” area as it is called, is incompatible with the majority of the Plan and we recommend the Plan be updated – especially with the current state of growth our community is experiencing. Furthermore – it is entirely incompatible with our Growth Policy which supersedes the Wisconsin Corridor Plan.

Growth is inevitable and your effort is really a no-growth initiative

We believe that everyone has a right to do with their property what is legally allowed. A WPUD overlay and a commercial zone change are not inherent rights to the property owner, which is why they have to go through this public process. This is an opportunity for the public to voice if they support allowing these changes in the community or not. Allowing the developer to rush us through this process is not the answer when the implications are permanent and very serious.

Doesn’t the community benefit from what additions (i.e. fire station) are being proposed?

An additional fire station in the proper context would benefit our community. However, the ramifications of such a high-density development as it is proposed will vastly outweigh any potential benefits.

Remember that they are only donating land to qualify for the WPUD overlay. They are not funding the building of, operating costs, or staffing of the fire station so it is a large “IF” if we will ever actually see a fire station here. Furthermore, this location would not be within 5 miles to our neighbors at the north end of the lake and Big Mtn already has their own fire station.

Are you not sensitive to the need for affordable housing?

Flathead Families for Responsible Growth is highly sensitive to the need for affordable housing. The Mountain Gateway Plan and its developers, however, are not.

We very much believe in investing in our community so that our children can afford to climb the socio-economic ladder here and build a life and family for themselves. This development does not accomplish that objective. In fact, this development will permanently displace folks already in low-rent housing and provide a very minimal amount on top of that. Furthermore, we believe that affordable housing should be in locations where the town’s infrastructure can safely absorb the increase in demand, such as across Hwy 93 from Safeway.

If not this, then what?

Development should not be at the expense of the character of the neighborhood or the exacerbation of safety issues resulting from the congestion that would come about from such a concentration of population in one location. There are also significant environmental issues at play. Alternatives on a far more reasonable scale should be discussed and explored. That takes time.

Shouldn’t an owner be able to do what they want with the property they own if reasonable?

We agree wholeheartedly. However, they are not asking to develop within their legal rights. They are asking for changes – which they have a right to do – which is why they have to participate in the public process and why we urge the public to speak up and tell the city how they think our community should grow and evolve.