Dear Whitefish Planning Board and City Council Members and the Mayor,
This letter to oppose any changes to the zoning at East Lakeshore Drive from residential to commercial. I would hope that is a semi-sacred promise to the residents when they buy and build into a neighborhood that they can expect that it remain the same zoning as when it was established.
We faced a similar threat to our neighborhood two or three years ago when Joe Gregory was trying to create a high-density development on this property, which was comprised of seven lots on the Whitefish Lake in addition to the 30 acres that is on both sides of Big Mountain Rd starting at East Lakeshore Drive. That high-density proposal would have adversely affected our neighborhood, the lake, and the beautiful nature corridor that East Lakeshore Drive passes through. So will the new developments being proposed on these same parcels.
As I understand it, new groups of investors are targeting the same properties (currently owned by
Joe Gregory) to fundamentally change this same neighborhood, with one group hoping to place a
hotel on the lake property while another unrelated group hopes to build a high-density development
on the 30 acres straddling Big Mountain Road. It appears that both groups would look for a change
to the zoning.
I oppose both efforts for the following reasons:
- The residential zoning that affects the current owners should be respected.
- High-density housing (potentially 340 units!) will change the low-density neighborhood
significantly
- The potential 5-star hotel that is being considered for the seven lots on Whitefish Lake
(adjacent to the 30 acres), although a different development from the housing development, should be part of the discussion of long-term planning for this East Lakeshore / Big Mountain Road area.
- The lake prevents parallel paths to handle the traffic. This is compounded by the railroad. The Wisconsin Ave/East Lakeshore Drive route (which feeds into the viaduct and downtown and Highway 93) is the only way to and from the development, creating a funnel. It is already a crowded route with the destination ski resort on Big Mountain Road, in addition to the existing residential properties on the lake, on the mountain, and in-between. Missoula and Kalispell have seeming unsurmountable traffic problems that could be foreseen. This route is already suffering from consistent and predictable traffic problems because there are no parallel paths out. There comes a point when it has to be addressed. It is a matter of time before a medical emergency will be fatal because of choked traffic, in the most dramatic case
- The desirability of the area between Whitefish Lake and the Whitefish range will drive a demand for further development of this beautiful corridor, but the land can house more people than the road can serve. The one-way-in and one-way-out reality of the area between is the limiting factor for this area.
- Additionally, accommodating the increasing demand for development in this area fundamentally change what currently makes it so desirable to the Whitefish community and its visitors (lake, trees, mountains, streams, wildlife, small town, and of course, NATURE)
- Although it must be acknowledged that the zoning for the 30-acre parcel does allow a fairly
high density, the traffic and other issues should require a rethinking of what should be permitted on this currently-undeveloped property.
Sometimes the best vision for the future is preserving the nature and natural beauty. National parks are the best example of that. Whitefish isn’t a national park, but I hope the town of Whitefish and its community leaders see the merits of protecting what makes Whitefish so special. It can never be turned back once the vision to protect the natural beauty is forfeited.
I appreciate the efforts of those who have created a web presence to make this discussion available
to the public: https://ffrgmt.org/
Thank you for
considering the opinions I have offered.
Sincerely,
(name redacted)
Whitefish resident since 1993
Fourth-generation Montanan