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2022 ANNUAL REPORT Planning and Building Department Inside This Issue Population 2 Annexation 2 Land Use Permits 3 Community Housing 4-5 Building Permits 6 Special Points of Interest • 118 acres annexed • 164 total land use permits • 41 lots were created in new subdivisions • 113 residential permits, down from 2021 but building valuation remained steady • 14 deed restricted ownership homes were completed • 51 commercial building permits were issued, up from 2021 • 663 total building permits were issued, down from 2021 From the Director 2022 was an interesting year in the city, with some growth trends slowing down and others remaining steady. The median house price in Whitefish increased 21% to over a million dollars, although total sales were the low- est in several years. The city limits expanded with 118 acres of new land voluntarily annexed in. New subdivision activity increased with eight new preliminary plats and 41 new lots created including the Whitefish Housing Authority’s Depot Park Townhomes intended for Moderate Income resi- dents. Land use permit activity for current planning projects was similar to previous years, although we had an increase in conditional use permit activity driven by new regulations adopted by the City Council in late 2021 allowing marijuana dispensaries in the city. The building department saw permits for 113 new residential units, which is considerably less than the previous several years. However, the total valuation of those was similar, which shows the increased cost of con- struction as well as higher end new homes being built. We also saw per- mits issued for twelve new commercial buildings in town, which is a large increase from the single permit issued in 2021. From a long range planning perspective, staff started working on a city- wide inventory of existing conditions as part of our preparation to kick off our new Growth Policy update in 2023. The City Council adopted a new ordinance in June changing how accessory dwelling units are regulated. Previously, the maximum 600 square foot accessory units required a con- ditional use permit and had to be deed restricted so that the owner had to maintain permanent residence in either the main house or the accessory unit. The new ordinance does away with that requirement, increases the maximum height to 26’, allows accessory units on lots that don’t meet the zoning minimum lot size and in grandfathered buildings that don’t meet required property line setbacks. Additionally, an incentive program was created called Rent to Locals which, if a property owner is willing to rent the property on 12-month leases for five years, the owner gets building permit and impact fees reimbursed up to $5,000 and can build the unit up to 800 square feet in size. Finally, new staff joined our office in 2022. We welcomed Nelson Loring as our new current planner, Alan Tiefenbach as our new long-range plan- ner, and Michael Samdahl as our new code compliance officer and build- ing inspector. Jessie Knapp and Anna Keim were hired as our customer service specialists, and Dabney Langellier was promoted to plans exam- iner/building inspector. We also hired back Major Robinson as a building inspector. We look forward to an interesting and productive 2023! David Taylor, AICP, Director of Planning and Building ---PAGE BREAK--- The city expanded its boundaries by 118 acres in 2022. All annex- ations were property owner initiated for proposed develop- ment. In the past decade, the city limits have increased by 416 acres. The population of Whitefish has nearly doubled since the 1990 Census. Population Annexations The most recent estimates for the Whitefish population is 8,492 which is a 9% increase from the 2020 cen- sus. This is a slight slowdown in population growth from the 2020 census of 18%. The population estimate for Flat- head County is 108,454, a 4% in- crease from 2020, and the state of Montana at 1,104,271, a 2% in- crease from 2020. 2 Property Annexed in 2022 Future Home of the Depot Park Townhomes ---PAGE BREAK--- Total Land Use Permits 3 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Preliminary Plat Applications 12 11 3 6 10 Final Plat Applications 0 15 6 3 8 Conditional Use Permits 14 24 17 25 28 Planned Unit Developments 9 0 0 3 3 Architectural Review 31 63 30 35 33 Zone Change 10 5 0 3 7 Variance 4 8 1 8 7 Water Quality Permits 0 0 1 0 2 Vendor 5 4 6 2 2 Temporary Use 1 1 0 0 0 Floodplain 1 3 0 2 1 Lakeshore 17 38 27 54 36 Subdivision Exemptions 17 32 17 17 21 Zoning Text Amendment 4 7 5 3 3 Growth Policy Amendment 1 0 0 2 2 TOTAL PERMITS: 126 211 113 164 163 The total number of land use per- mits processed in 2022 remained similar to last year. There was a slight increase in subdivision (preliminary and final plat requests) and conditional use permit applica- tions and a decrease in lakeshore permits while other permits re- mained at similar level to the previ- ous year. Short-term rental per- mits dropped from 151 permits issued in 2021 to 66 in 2022 for a total of 346 legally registered short- term rentals. Snowy Mountain subdivision— one of the 10 preliminary plats approved in 2022 Addition to the Whitefish Golf Club ---PAGE BREAK--- “Addressing community housing … is about more than just adding supply In 2022, the City updated the 2016 Housing Needs Assessment (HNA). The 2016 HNA identified a need of 980 new residential units by 2020 (400 ownership and 580 rentals). Of the total units 62% needed to be affordable to serve the local residents. Whitefish built all the need- ed units, however, only 7% were affordable. The 2022 HNA identifies 1,310 units needed by 2030 to house our resi- dents (515 ownership units and 800 rental units). This is 492 from the 2016 HNA (catch up) and 820 (keep up). Of the units needed, 74% need to be affordably priced for locals. In 2022, fourteen deed restricted ownership units were constructed. Since 2016, 49 deed restricted rental units have been constructed and 35 deed restricted owner- ship units. This is far short of the housing needed to support our community. Community Housing Housing and housing affordability continues to be a critical concern in Whitefish. The average residential unit sold in the 59937-zip code in 2022 was $1,389,578 up from $1,142,229 in 2021. This price is not affordable for most locals. In order to afford the average home price, a household would need to have an annual income of $463,000; however, the average household income for a family of four is $80,300. The 2022 median house sold increased to $1,012,500 from $800,000 in 2021, a 21% increase which is less than the previous year in- crease of 33%. Pre-pandemic (2019), the median house- hold price was $492,500. Total sales in 2022 were the lowest in seven years. 4 Community Housing Needs ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 The City Council approved the 2022 Whitefish Community Housing Roadmap which is an up- date to the 2017 Strategic Housing Plan. The Housing Roadmap includes updated housing strategies and the identification of other local organizations working on housing to develop a housing partnership to work toward solving the housing crisis. In 2023, a revamped City Com- munity Housing Committee will be established to work on its implementation. 2022 Whitefish Community Housing Roadmap ---PAGE BREAK--- While the total number of new single family houses decreased significantly from the last several years, the total valuation of the houses permitted remained simi- lar. We also saw an increase in the number of new commercial buildings in the city. Building & Construction 6 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Single Family 64 95 92 129 57 remodel - SFR 38 47 90 57 38 addition - SFR 36 22 29 28 27 Accessory Dwelling Unit 6 5 7 6 Townhome/Duplex 40 77 67 57 16 remodel - TH/DU 0 0 0 0 0 addition - TH/DU 0 0 0 0 0 Multi-family 54 68 138 27 34 remodel - MF 1 0 0 0 0 addition - MF 1 0 0 0 0 TOTAL RES UNITS 158 246 302 220 113 Commercial 5 8 14 1 12 remodel - com 28 29 34 27 32 addition - com 9 5 4 6 7 TOTAL COMMERCIAL 42 42 52 34 51 electrical 208 231 231 329 164 mechanical 151 212 189 288 175 plumbing 203 230 225 296 130 TOTAL PERMITS 762 [PHONE REDACTED] 633 Stockman Bank Eagle Lake Condos Wright’s Furniture Mixed Use Bldg in Railway District