Missoula County Working on New Draft Growth Plan

Missoula County is currently working on a new draft plan for its growth policy. During phase one residents expressed some of their goals for the county, saying they wanted a strong economy as well as preservation of both agricultural land and the environment,  but now it's time to move on to phase two.

"Now we need to talk about 'What do we want to do about that?'" said Missoula County Community and Planning Services Assistant Director Karen Hughes . "You know, how do we maintain those beautiful open spaces and natural resources and ensure they'll be here for future generations, while also making sure that our communities are healthy and thriving, and that people have jobs and can make a good living? So we want to talk about what actions do people want the community undertaking."

Hughes said two major topics that have come up include how the county should work with the city of Missoula, and subdivision laws.

"The more specific objective would be to guide new subdivisions and development. Then the question is: 'How?'" Hughes said. "Are there certain things that we should have in our subdivision regulations that are different than what we have now? We have some guidance...You know, are there other things that we should be considering?"

Information about the growth policy and the new round of meetings starting next week can be found at www.mcgrowthpolicy.us.