Where Should Missoula Grow?

By Kaylee Porter, 5-19-08

	Caption: Roger Millar, Director of the Office of Planning and Grants, represented the Urban Fringe Development Project at a City Club Missoula forum held today at the Doubletree Hotel in Missoula. Millar introduced three models for future land use in the Missoula urban area. Photo by Alexia Beckerling.

To house the growing population, Missoula needs to build about 15,000 new homes in the next 20 years, local planers say. The big question is how the city will accommodate this growth.

Members of the community gathered at the City Club Missoula’s forum on Monday afternoon to address this question and a possible answer: the city's Urban Fringe Development Area Project. The project looks at where growth has occurred and where it might in the future. Its goal is to help the community develop a framework plan of the growth policy it wants.

Roger Millar, the director of the Office of Planning and Grants, discussed the challenges of growth in Missoula and options for accommodating the housing demand.

“You may be shocked to hear that in 2025 Reserve [Street] will be over capacity,” Millar joked.

But the already-congested road on the West side of town wouldn’t be the only street affected by the growth. As Millar pointed out, 3rd Street, Brooks Street, Arthur Ave and many other Missoula streets would all be over capacity if growth is not managed effectively. The growth will strain other parts of the city’s infrastructure as well, including fire stations, parks, agricultural land and the water supply.

OPG has gathered an impressive collection of data and elaborate maps (available for download at its Website) overlaying things such as tracts of developable land, transit networks, agricultural land, net density, open space, sewer mains and water lines, and public safety components, among many others, to inform local governing bodies’ decision making on growth and development.

	Andrea Davis, director of planning and development for the Missoula Housing Authority (MHA), asked Roger Millar what UFDA proposes to do about agricultural space in the Missoula area. Members of MHA who attended the City Club Missoula discussed the possible future need for self-reliance and more locally grown produce. Photo by Alexia Beckerling.

According to Millar, however, 15,000 new homes is not an unreasonable amount of growth. In fact, that would be less than two percent growth over the next 20 years. As a comparison, Millar noted Boise is growing at a rate of six percent and Bend is growing by eight percent.

In other words, Missoula’s growth is manageable, as long as we plan for the future. To help the community plan, Miller and his staff have come up with three scenarios for housing development in the next 20 years.

The first, the “Business as Usual” plan, assumes we continue to develop as we have been. Growth will occur primarily on the fringes of town, with the Wye., Mullen and Target Range areas being hit the hardest. Under this plan Missoula would be 2,503 lots short of the roughly 15,000 it would need.

The second plan, “Suburban Satellites,” would involve more compact development. The city’s zoning would stay the same, but services (doctor’s offices, grocery stores, etc.) would be located closer to people’s homes. This plan would better accommodate people’s needs, but would still fall 1,239 lots short.

The third plan, “Focus Inward,” would mean compact growth in the center of Missoula. Building on parking lots and low value commercial sites would intensify the downtown area. This plan would best accommodate for growth, leaving Missoula only 109 lots short.

	Amy Boughton, left, listens to Marcy Allen, executive director of the Bitterroot Economic Development District, discussing the economic aspects of implementing the development plans proposed by the Urban Fringe Development Area Project. Photo by Alexia Beckerling.

Millar says these three plans are intended as a starting point for community discussion. From here they will ask people what they like and what they don’t like about each plan in hopes of finding an ideal combination.

City Councilman Jason Weiner attended the forum and said he thinks this is a great project because it is looking at where Missoula is now and where it needs to go.

“We have to have a growth policy that represents the consensus of the community,” Weiner said.

The Urban Fringe Development Area Project will hold open houses on Wednesday and Thursday so planners can gather public comment.

“We need to remember that we’re starting from a wonderful place… and we have the opportunity to make it even better,” Millar said.

Open Houses

Wednesday, May 21

Missoula Public Library
Large Meeting Room
301 East Main
3:30—5:30 p.m.

City Council Chambers
140 West Pine
7:00—9:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 22

Southgate Mall
Bonnie Hamilton Community Room between Sears and JC Penney
3:30—5:30 p.m.

Orchard Homes Country Life Club
2537 South 3rd St. West
7:00—9:00 p.m.
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