The Portland consulting firm that suggested a four-story “boutique” hotel as a catalyst project in the Whitefish downtown master plan now has issued a different opinion: “Under no conditions will a fourth floor be allowed.”
Crandall Arambula, which drafted the downtown plan two years ago after a series of public meetings, recently responded to a request from the Heart of Whitefish downtown group to put together a brief analysis of building heights and recommendations for the downtown area.
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“Business owners were now hearing visitors say, ‘Santa Fe is starting to look like every other community. I am not coming back.’ Santa Fe’s leaders realized that the city was at a tipping point. By allowing new buildings to be over three stories, they were destroying the special character that had made the city successful.”
Full Story: http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/10/16/news/news02.txt
By LYNNETTE HINTZE/The Daily Inter Lake