WHITEFISH – For a long-discussed business service district along Montana Highway 40, the third time is a charm.
On Monday night the Whitefish City Council approved a zoning amendment that creates a business service district after tabling it twice before. The district, located along Montana Highway 40 and Dillon Road southeast of Whitefish, allows for non-retail commercial and light industrial uses, including limited manufacturing, offices and warehouses.
Allowing commercial zoning along the highway corridors has long been a debated issue in Whitefish, as the corridors form the gateways to the city and scenery is considered vital. The approved business district amendment addresses these concerns by outlining regulations that call for extensive landscaping, architectural standards that limit the “industrial” appearance of buildings and what types of commercial or industrial uses can be applied.