A proposal to expand Safeway failed Monday night at Whitefish’s city council meeting.
The 3-3 tie vote to approve the conditional-use permit counted as a “no-pass” because Mayor Andy Feury was out-of-town and unable to give the tiebreaking vote. Since there were no motions to deny the store expansion, only to approve it, council member Nancy Woodruff said the issue will be back on the agenda next meeting.
Whitefish’s architectural review committee will look at the expansion for the fourth time between now and then.
Woodruff was one of the three council members who voted against it. She said she and dissenting members don’t disagree with the expansion in general, only details that mostly concern the store’s appearance and loading dock location.
“There were some unanswered issues,” she said.
She said she wants to come to an agreement and believes Safeway is an important business in Whitefish. City Manager Gary Marks feels confident that the council will work it out.
“It’s a large store that’s proposed,” he said. “Ultimately, I think it will get passed.”