New Housing Initiatives Aim to Enhance Missoula’s Neighborhoods

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Missoula City Council will meet for several hours on Wednesday to examine and discuss the ‘Our Missoula Land Use Plan’.

At a press conference prior to the meeting, Mayor Andrea Davis, City Councilor Mike Nugent, and developers Adam Hertz and Chris Chitty provided comments about the city’s plan for growth going forward.

Mayor Davis provided a brief overview.

Missoula Media Had a Preview of the New Land Use Plan

“We think about and what we take into consideration, is that Missoula is really defined by our landscapes, our people, our neighborhoods, and our public spaces, and to meet the needs of our growing community, we must increase housing availability and access in all neighborhoods and all levels in all neighborhoods,” said Mayor Davis.

City Councilor Mike Nugent said the proposed plan will help to define growth over the next decade.

Mayor Davis and City Councilor Nugent Spoke to Reporters About the Plan

“This will kind of incorporate that ability to project housing and to identify what our capacity needs are,” said Nugent. “It creates place types that are really calibrated to meet our needs, both now and in the future, in a way that creates responsible growth and lets some of the neighborhoods that people really like in Missoula be replicated in a way that our current zoning code does not.”

Developer and former city councilman Adam Hertz described two important parts of the plan.

Developers Adam Hertz and Chris Chitty Also Spoke to the Media

“One of the most important aspects of the plan, in my opinion, is its focus on housing inventory and affordability,” said Hertz. “It's no secret that Missoula is short on housing inventory, particularly ‘for sale’ inventory, but housing inventory at all levels, from subsidized rentals to market-rate rentals to deep restricted owner-owned rentals to ‘the missing middle’, as we call it. We need inventory at all levels in order to spur housing filtering and create more affordability.”

Chris Chitty of Hone Architects and Builders said he is most impressed with the scope of the new land use plan.

“This land use plan is the most ambitious, the most committed to affordability, and the most hopeful step that I have seen the city take in the 15 years I have been permitting projects in Missoula,” said Chitty. “When I put my housing advocate hat on as a member of Pro-Housing Missoula and of the All Missoula Community Advisory Group, I support this plan because of its focus on affordability, equity, and climate resilience.”

The city council met Wednesday afternoon for an extended session to discuss the land use plan.