30% Affordable.

This proposal is taking advantage of the Legacy Homes Program, which requires only 10% of its homes to be deed-restricted for affordability. Going above and beyond, the proposal will offer 30% affordable homes - a total of 44 affordable homes for Whitefish residents, which is on par with any 100% affordable rental project that has been built to date in Whitefish.

In other words, this community incorporates as many affordable homes as the largest 100% affordable home projects that exist in Whitefish. These homes are being built without public subsidy - so market-rate rental homes are a necessary piece of the affordable housing puzzle.

Much-Needed Rental Homes.

Home prices in Whitefish are insane. With high mortgage interest rates and 20% down, it is virtually impossible to find a mortgage payment that is <$2,500/month. Over the past few years, we’ve seen rental homes go away with little done to replace them. Low- and moderate-income earners in Whitefish need rental home options to be able to live here without being cost-burdened. In addition to 44 affordable homes, this proposal will provide an additional 102 homes for local wage earners. RENTAL VACANCY RATES IN WHITEFISH ARE AT HISTORIC LOWS - this hurts renters.

Location, location, location.

Located just 0.5 miles from the heart of downtown Whitefish, this is the perfect location for a development of this nature to minimize traffic and infrastructure impacts. If we want to save our climate, or simply just not sit in endless traffic, then we need to allow people to live as close as possible to downtown - where they work and play. This proposal checks those boxes.

ORAL TESTIMONY

• Testimony will take place at Whitefish City Hall (upstairs in City Council Chambers) at TBD - Planning Board first, then City Council (likely December/January)

• At each meeting, this item will have its own public hearing. When the public hearing is called (after the proposal is presented), you simply need to step to the podium to speak. It is not necessary to sign in to speak. You can provide around 3 minutes of testimony, and the council typically does not answer questions during this time.

• Not sure what to say? See below!

WRITTEN TESTIMONY

• Written testimony can be as long or short as you like. Submit by sending an email to [email protected] or click the button below.

• Written testimony can be submitted at any time before the Planning Board and/or City Council meeting. This will be updated once we know the meeting dates.

• Not sure what to say? See below! Or you can simply say, “I support the [planning board/city council’s] unanimous vote of approval for the Whitefish Corridor Community proposal - which will provide much-needed rental homes and deed-restricted affordable rental homes close to downtown Whitefish.”

ORAL/WRITTEN TESTIMONY TEMPLATE

You can use the following testimony as inspiration, to build upon or as a ready-to-submit letter (after you fill in the blanks). The most important thing is that you send a letter or show up in person. ***This letter is not ready to send - it needs to be edited***

Dear Planning Board,

Dear Mayor Muhlfeld and Councilors,

My name is ___________ and I live at/in [your address or general location in Whitefish or elsewhere]. I am requesting that you vote in favor of the Whitefish Corridor Community which will provide much-needed rental homes and affordable rental homes in a prime location close to downtown Whitefish.

Share your own housing story or the housing story of your friends. Have you/they lost a rental in Whitefish and struggled to find another? Have you/they had rent increases beyond what you/they can comfortably afford, but the waiting lists for truly affordable housing are too long?

This development proposal will make a meaningful dent in the 975 affordable homes that Whitefish needs to build by 2030, while at the same time easing the pressure on the market-rate rental market that maintains historically low vacancy levels - a fact that hurts renters in Whitefish. I would appreciate your yes vote for workforce housing in Whitefish.

Thank you.

[your name]