Whitefish Community Housing Committee

WHITEFISH COMMUNITY HOUSING COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, August 26, 2024 CITY HALL-WHITEFISH CONFERENCE ROOM PRESENT: Board Members-Cameron Blake, Annaka Egan, Rhonda Fitzgerald, Marissa Getts (PHONE), Carolyn Pitman, Daniel Sidder Absent: Ben Davis, Roxann Gallagher, Jeff Raper Staff Members- Wendy Compton-Ring, Dana Smith, Alan Tiefenbach, Dave Taylor 1. Call to Order by Cameron Blake at 2:00pm 2. Communication from the Public. None 3. Approval of Minutes from July 22, 2024 meeting. Motion to approve made by Rhonda and seconded by Daniel. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Work Session with City Council to set priorities. The session will be held November 4, 2024 at 5:30pm. During the ensuing discussion the committee decided that it would be helpful if it made frequent updates to the council to keep their attention on our work. Committee members could take turns attending the work sessions. Also discussed was whether it was beneficial to present our housing priorities to Council or to receive our direction from them. No resolution was reached 5. Zoning for Affordability: a. Discuss and identify potential zoning changes to recommend prior to, or for inclusion in, the Growth Policy Update The Montana Land Use Planning Act requires municipalities to incorporate a minimum of five strategies in a majority of the area where residential development is permitted. Alan stated that Housing in the Community Plan Update would not be addressed until spring. He reiterated that Whitefish has the housing stock to house its citizens but it is just not affordable to most. The committee went through the strategies to determine which were already in Whitefish zoning and which ones needed to be pursued. It was noted that Whitefish already meets the five strategy minimum. 1. Permit duplexes where SFR is permitted: Already in our residential zoning districts. Committee considered that a separate line was needed for townhouses and rowhouses. 2. Zone for higher density housing near appropriate population center: Multi-family mixed use is now permitted in all commercial zones 3. Eliminate or reduce off-street parking requirements to require no more than one parking space per dwelling unit: Whitefish has reduced but not eliminated its parking requirements. Committee felt this should be pursued and tie requirements to specific usage areas. 4. Eliminate impact fees for ADU’s or development that include multi-unit dwellings or reduce fee by at least 25%: Whitefish has no impact fees for ADU’s only. Other fee reduction would need to be funded through other sources by the City Council. Time delay for impact fees for affordable housing was one suggestion. Or, all deed restricted housing could have impact fees eliminated. 5. Permit ADU on lot with an SFR: Whitefish permits ADUs in all residential zoning districts. 6. Permit triplex or fourplex where a SFR is permitted: Not in Whitefish zoning. Committee stated this is a housing strategy to pursue and decide where higher/additional density is appropriate. 7. Allow for single room occupancy developments: Not in Whitefish zoning. It could be part of the Community Plan Update. Committee members discussed the idea of cooperative living and working with employers for this type of housing.  8. Eliminate minimum lot sizes or reduce the existing minimum lot sizes by at least 25%: Committee members felt this was a strategy to pursue and it would be part of the Community Plan Update. Tiny homes were mentioned as possible with smaller lot sizes. 9. Eliminate aesthetic requirements for multi-unit dwellings or mixed use developments or remove at least half of these requirements: No Architectural Review is required for duplexes. Whitefish has a simplified list for 2 and 3 unit residential buildings. Some committee members were reluctant to see the city remove all architectural review from mixed use and multi-unit developments. 10. Provide for zoning that specifically allows or encourages the development of tiny houses: The Committee felt this should be pursued under lot size reduction. Whitefish regulations were amended to add tiny houses to the definition of manufactured housing which is permitted in all residential zones. 11. Eliminate setback requirements or reduce setback requirements by at least 25%. 12. Increase building height limits for dwellings by at least 25%: Whitefish has used this as incentive for affordability. Committee would pursue this while considering the neighborhood where four stories would be appropriate. 13. Allow multi-unit dwellings or mixed use development as a permitted use on all lots where office, retail, or commercial are the primary uses: Multi-family (5 unites or more) and mixed use is now permitted in all commercial zones. 14. Allow multi-units dwellings as a permitted use on all lots where triplexes and fourplexes are permitted uses: Committee would pursue this strategy. b. Governor’s Housing Task Force-Final Report: Dana covered the high points of the report which is available to read in its entirety. Daniel is a member of the Montana Housing Coalition and they favored several of the recommendations made by the Housing Task Force, among them the Montana Housing Tax Program, the tax credit program and Coal Trust flexible funding. 6. Communication from staff and partner agencies: Dana reported that they had received helpful feedback from HUD regarding a failed application. Daniel reported on the Workforce Assistance applications: 37 are in the program and 20-25 are expected to be funded in the upcoming round. 7. Next Committee meeting is September 23, 2024 from 2:00-4:00pm. 8. Meeting adjourned by Cameron at 4:00pm. Respectfully Submitted, Carolyn Pitman, Secretary