I would like to thank my many neighbors and friends for supporting the proposed Snow Frog Bed and Breakfast and Double Tap Tasting Room on West Second Street. After two years of planning, hundreds of hours spent developing business models that provided both public good and needed investment to the corridor, I am sorry to say we withdrew the project from consideration.
Our project proposed a B&B of only nine rooms on a historic property with setbacks and lot sizes that far exceeded code, provided public easements for a bike path and river access, a permanent conservation easement for critical river habitat, offered a locally handcrafted beer with limited hours and consumption, paved onsite parking, additional landscaping and fences, water features and a redesign of the original deck to satisfy a neighbor.
Unsubstantiated accusations caused an unfortunate division in the neighborhood and the use of a flawed City of Missoula attorney’s legal opinion that restricted access and the rights of citizens to meet with their public officials prevented any reasonable and timely solution. Any mention of impropriety or a lack of ethics on the part of any member of our volunteer city planning board or city council is unfounded and unjust.
Our family’s intention was to be fun, innovative and forward looking and use a transparent process to create a better future for Whitefish. In the end, I suppose my family’s many signs hanging on the wall in the Great Northern Bar remain the most accurate testament to the perils of trying to do business in Whitefish.
Sen. Ryan Zinke
Whitefish