VISION WHITEFISH 2045
WELCOME TO THE VISION WHITEFISH 2045 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SITE!
This website will serve as the resource for all things related to the Growth Policy and will allow you to participate right from this website! In order to utilize all the tools and receive news and updates, please register and subscribe to this site. Look to the frequently asked questions (FAQs) for information about this project and how to engage on this website.
VISION WHITEFISH 2045 IS THE DOCUMENT THAT WILL GUIDE OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH GROWTH AND CHANGE FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS AND WE NEED YOUR VOICE TO MAKE THIS PLAN TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHITEFISH!
WELCOME TO THE VISION WHITEFISH 2045 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SITE!
This website will serve as the resource for all things related to the Growth Policy and will allow you to participate right from this website! In order to utilize all the tools and receive news and updates, please register and subscribe to this site. Look to the frequently asked questions (FAQs) for information about this project and how to engage on this website.
VISION WHITEFISH 2045 IS THE DOCUMENT THAT WILL GUIDE OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH GROWTH AND CHANGE FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS AND WE NEED YOUR VOICE TO MAKE THIS PLAN TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHITEFISH!
Have any questions or concerns about the Growth Policy Update? Contact us here!
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Could you create an area on this page for learning and educational resources on growth? There are some really great books on the importance of city planning, design, etc., on happiness, quality of life, etc that I think would be helpful to connect people to Such as the book below: Happy City- "A globe-trotting, eye-opening exploration of how cities can--and do--make us happier people Charles Montgomery's Happy City is revolutionizing the way we think about urban life. After decades of unchecked sprawl, more people than ever are moving back to the city. Dense urban living has been prescribed as a panacea for the environmental and resource crises of our time. But is it better or worse for our happiness? Are subways, sidewalks, and condo towers an improvement on the car dependence of the suburbs? The award-winning journalist Charles Montgomery finds answers to such questions at the intersection between urban design and the emerging science of happiness, during an exhilarating journey through some of the world's most dynamic cities. He meets the visionary mayor who introduced a sexy bus to ease status anxiety in Bogota ; the architect who brought the lessons of medieval Tuscan hill towns to modern-day New York City; the activist who turned Paris's urban freeways into beaches; and an army of American suburbanites who have hacked the design of their own streets and neighborhoods. Rich with new insights from psychology, neuroscience, and Montgomery's own urban experiments, Happy City reveals how cities can shape our thoughts as well as our behavior. The message is ultimately as surprising as it is hopeful: by retrofitting cities and our own lives for happiness, we can tackle the urgent challenges of our age. The happy city can save the world--and we can all help build it. " https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/happy-city-transforming-our-lives-through-urban-design_charles-montgomery/1396541/item/10304960/
MalloryP asked about 1 month agoThanks for your question!
As a government and public entity, we should not recommend resources or books outside of what have been sanctioned or provided by the City or State. However, we look forward to robust discussion regarding strategies to ensure the City of Whitefish continues to grow in a sustainable manner, accommodates housing for all demographic groups and retains Whitefish character. We have noted this suggestion and encourage you to raise these topics during visioning sessions, discussions regarding the land use and housing elements and they could certainly become strategies or policies in the new growth policy.
For those who are interested in urban planning, development, or housing issues, the State of Montana has posted numerous resources on their Community Technical Assistance Home Page .
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Can you post in the FAQ portion of this website a bulleted list of how y'all plan on doing public engagement? Such as setting up a booth at the Christmas Stroll, Farmers Market, etc.
MalloryP asked about 1 month agoGood morning, thank you for your question!
We do have a list similar to what you have suggested starting on Page 11 of our Public Engagement Plan (PEP). It goes through all the strategies we plan to engage the public, although it does not have specific dates or events listed. To make the PEP easier to find, I've just linked it in the FAQs as well. We do plan to set up booths for at least several of the community events.
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It would be helpful for the public to know how specifically the city and planning team will use/incorporate the public feedback into the drafting of he Growth Policy.
FFRG1 asked about 2 months agoIt is very difficult for us to be “specific” about how the team will use and incorporate public feedback into the drafting of the growth policy this early in the process and only at the level of a general survey thus far.
The feedback of the public will absolutely be analyzed and considered during the process and the public can stay involved in this process step-by-step. All drafts and maps will be posted on the website and reviewed in work sessions and public hearings open to the public. At present, we are looking at existing conditions and collecting and analyzing data. There will be community meetings held in different geographic locations throughout the City, particularly toward the second half of the project when we are focusing on land use and housing. This growth policy is a community plan for OUR community, and it is remiss for staff to bring a Plan to the decision makers, or the decision makers to adopt a plan that does not represent the values of the community.
The ways public feedback can be incorporated into the drafting of a growth policy are too numerous for us to list or even theorize on at this point. We can use it to determine what the community values, and what the community wants Whitefish to look like and not look like in the future. What is the “community character” of Whitefish and how does Whitefish change, grow and evolve over the next 20 years and retain that character? Public feedback can help us consider what is most and least important to protect, where the view corridors are, what streets are safest and least safe? Where are the constraints to emergency ingress and egress, and how can they be improved? Which areas can best handle growth, which lack the infrastructure or contain other physical constraints that inhibit growth? How should new growth and development be distributed throughout the community? How can each area accept its fair share of growth? How can development occur with the least amount of impact on the neighbors? Where are you seeing wildlife? Where are your favorite areas to walk and what do you like to see and not see? Where can goods and services be located and reduce the amount of driving necessary?
That said, the way the public can best help us is to stay involved and offer us tangible suggestions. Recent state mandates require us to generate realistic population projections and plan for that growth. As we write the growth policy, it is our responsibility to consider the feedback of the residents, the future residents, the people who used to live here and no longer can, the housed and un-housed, the commuters, the out-of-staters, the service workers, the executives, the developers and the interest groups equally.
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I want to make sure housing for workers is secured and protected.
Justin asked about 2 months agoOf course! We also share this concern!
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I have had a few friends try to sign up for this website and aren't able to register. I was just wondering if you all were aware that people were having trouble registering and if this would be fixed in time for everyone to be able to engage with the 3 surveys that close on the 31st. Thanks!
LCameroFCOP asked 2 months agoThanks for bringing this to our attention!
Yes! We are aware of this issue and are actively working with EngageHQ to resolve the issue. We believe it is related to the "reCAPTCHA" button (I am not a robot). At present, we have turned that feature off. Give it a try again and see if it works. Sorry about the inconvenience, we are doing everything we can to make this as easy as possible for everyone. -
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Where is the link for the public to open comment, contributing their ideas for browsers of website to see?
FFRG1 asked 5 months agoThanks for the question! Please understand the functionality of this site will increase and more tools will be added as the project moves forward. At present, this "questions" tool is absolutely appropriate to ask questions or make comments. Eventually, we expect to open up a forums tool as well as an "ideas" tool where specific topics or general online discussion viewable to all may occur.
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Key Dates
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October 19 2023
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September 06 2023
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August 24 2023
Documents
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KickOff Meeting
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August 24, 2023 Kickoff Presentation
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HAND OUT KickOff (1.44 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-Existing_Conditions.pdf (2.13 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-YearDeveloped.pdf (2.25 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-Existing_Densities.pdf (2.84 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-Developable Land.pdf (1.97 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-Zoning.pdf (1.53 MB) (pdf)
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MAP-YearDeveloped.pdf (2.25 MB) (pdf)
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Public Engagement Plan-July17-2023.pdf (1.25 MB) (pdf)
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Growth Policy Staff Reports
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Oct19-2023-PB-WorksessionMemo.pdf (822 KB) (pdf)
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Feb-6-2023 PB GP Memo.pdf (490 KB) (pdf)
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February15_2023-Council.pdf (121 KB) (pdf)
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Council Work Session Memo Growth Policy Update 2_21_23.pdf (225 KB) (pdf)
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April20-2023-Planning Board-Worksession .pdf (737 KB) (pdf)
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June-15-2023-PB-Worksession PEP Memo.pdf (700 KB) (pdf)
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June 19-2023 Public Engagement Plan Staff Report and Resolution.pdf (1.57 MB) (pdf)
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Growth Policy Presentations
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Public Comments
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Newletters
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Survey Results
Videos
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Click here to play video October 19, 2023 Planning Board Work Session Work Session that discusses general updates to the growth policy, discussion regarding upcoming visioning, choosing of logo, discussion of high school project and phasing changes.
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Click here to play video September 6, 2023 Virtual Q&A Post Kick Off Meeting Question and Answer Meeting (virtual)
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Click here to play video Kickoff Meeting August 24, 2023 Video of the August 24, 2023 Kickoff Meeting
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Click here to play video Public Engagement Plan Presentation (April 20 Planning Board Work Session)
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Click here to play video Existing Conditions Presentation (February 16, 2023 Planning Board) Staff presents the findings for a City-wide existing conditions inventory. Presentation begins at 55 minutes.
Timeline
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Public Outreach and Kickoff
VISION WHITEFISH 2045 has finished this stageRaise public awareness, provide kick off meeting to discuss the project, do outreach to as many participants as possible, present existing conditions of the City, solicit cover art for the Plan, discuss opportunities and challenges.
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Existing Conditions / Population Projections
VISION WHITEFISH 2045 is currently at this stageInventory, mapping and description of all existing conditions and population projections for a 20 year period.
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Visioning
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Workgroups and virtual visioning sessions to create a vision for what Whitefish should be in twenty years. Questions include what is special and what should be preserved, what needs to be improved, how to grow while respecting community character, etc.
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Data Collection, Analysis and Mapping
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Collection, analysis and digital mapping of natural resources, environment, and hazards, local services and facilities, and economic development. Review of existing documents and policies. Review and / or update of infrastructure and transportation plans. Hiring of consultants. Completion of economic analysis and market study. Creation of draft policies and maps. This data will be used to create the land use and housing element.
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Community Check In Town Hall Meeting
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Check in for feedback and ideas prior to beginning land use and housing element. (How are we doing?)
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Land Use and Housing
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Review of data, documents and policies, review of inconsistencies between zoning, growth policy, specific plans and existing conditions, discussion of land use opportunities and constraints, possible formation of work groups, collaboration with housing agencies, identification and mapping of land use and housing, determination and mapping of land use and character areas.
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Implementation Element
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Discussion and drafting of implementation measures, schedule for regulatory and other plan updates, analysis of zoning and growth policy inconsistencies, procedures for monitoring and evaluating implementation progress.
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Final Plan Review
this is an upcoming stage for VISION WHITEFISH 2045Drafting of final plan text, policies and maps. Layout and design, presentation to community and decision makers, discussion and plan revisions, and final public hearings.
Who's Listening
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Phone 406-863-2413 Email atiefenbach@cityofwhitefish.org -
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