Envisioning the New Western City

By Emily Darrell, 10-26-07

	Caption: From left to right, Jonathan Weber, NewWest.Net; Roger Millar, Missoula Office of Planning and Grants; and Jeff Krauss, Mayor of Bozeman. Photo by Yogesh Simpson

In an opening statement before a panel discussion Friday at the NewWest.Net Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference titled “The New Western City,” Missoula Mayor John Engen summed up one of the biggest conundrums facing development in Missoula and throughout West: “People don’t like density and also don’t like sprawl.”

While the Mountain West is often thought of as a rural region, a higher proportion of people in the Northern Rockies live in cities than do people in any other area of the country. Relatively small cities like Missoula and Bozeman are beginning to think of urban approaches such as condo development, infill, and mass transit to solving their development problems. Yet the question of whether to build up or build out is an inherently difficult one. The scarcity of affordable housing in many Western cities is also an important issue, as is the need to find safe, effective, and affordable solutions to the transportation troubles that increase with new development.

Moderated by NewWest.Net’s Jonathan Weber, each of the panel’s four members discussed their thoughts on development patterns in his respective city or region.

Roger Millar of the Missoula Office of Planning and Grants said many of Missoula’s development problems stem from the need for a new zoning ordinance, as the current one was designed in 1932. Millar also said that because of permitting restrictions, it is more difficult for a developer to build a multi-story residential building downtown than it is to build the same size building for commercial use.

Millar said development in Missoula has historically been “one size fits all.” “We need to diversify to satisfy more needs,” he said. “The large lot is not the only thing out there.”

On top of that, Millar said that Missoula’s transportation plans must match its development patterns. “It we continue to sprawl,” he said, “we need to make transportation that can support that growth.”

Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss, while not dismissing infill or upward growth as options for new development in Bozeman, believes that many Americans still desire the archetypal single-family, American Dream home—a house that’s not huge, but has a yard “where a kid can play catch with Dad”—and he wants to keep that option alive for Bozeman residents.

“We need to recognize that people don’t move to Montana to stack themselves up in a big pile,” Krauss said.

Krauss also briefly discussed the affordable housing ordinance that was recently passed in Bozeman, an ordinance that he hopes will help Bozeman retain much of its middle class.

Krauss added that Bozeman has a very young population, and that a “flip side” to attracting retiring baby boomers is that it doesn’t do much for creating an economy for the young people.

Ron Ueland, of Butte and the WestBred company, was asked by Weber about his vision for the future of Butte. Ueland answered: “I think Butte’s a diamond in the rough right now.”

Ueland believes that Butte, with its large number of historic buildings and its low real estate prices, is a prime location for downtown revitalization. He said there are three primary factors to consider in doing so: affordability, sustainability, and networking between the public and private sectors.

Rounding out the panel, John Carroll of Portland, Oregon’s Carroll Investments discussed several of the development projects he has worked on in downtown Portland, projects that can serve as models for fast-growing cities in the Northern Rockies. Carroll said that due in part to the reclamation of many industrial sites Portland has developed an “incredibly vibrant downtown” that is populated by people of all ages and incomes. One example is the hip Pearl District that was transformed from an industrial area.

He said that the large number of people choosing to live in downtown Portland has invigorated the commercial development, causing at least one business, outdoor gear store REI, to move its business from the suburbs to downtown.

Carroll also said that one of the best ways for developers and governments to come up with good growth solutions is to engage the public.

“Even though its challenging from time to time,” he said. “We need to engage the community.”

Stay tuned to NewWest.Net/RealEstate for more coverage from the second annual Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference October 25 and 26.