Community and Planning
Services -
Subdivision Regulations Assessment Project
Subdivision Regulations Assessment Report
Missoula County is
in the process of evaluating the current subdivision
regulations as a first step in amending and updating the rules.
While adopting specific amendments to the regulations during the past
several years, county officials heard from numerous community members
that the subdivision regulations should be more comprehensively revised.
As a first step, we conducted a series of listening sessions to
learn the ideas, experiences and observations of a broad array of
individuals and groups in the community, particularly those with a good
working knowledge of existing regulations and procedures. We invited key individuals and organizations to participate in listening
sessions and express their ideas about the parts of the subdivision
regulations that should be revised, and those portions that work well
and should be retained.
Missoula County engaged Bill Collins, of Collins Planning
Associates, an experienced land use planner and former county planning
director, to facilitate a number of listening sessions. Mr. Collins will
organize the results of more than 20 listening sessions and combine this
information with his own observations about the regulations as the first
step in an overall evaluation of the county’s subdivision regulations.
In order to hear as many perspectives as possible, we had a
week full of
listening sessions focusing on a variety of topics. We invited
key individuals representing
different interests,
perspectives, agencies and organizations to these sessions. These
meetings were open to the public and there was be a general public
comment period at the end of each listening session during which any
member of the public could provide comments.
We asked participants to focus their input on the following subjects:
- Potential changes to the subdivision review process
- Potential changes to how the subdivision review criteria are defined and used for evaluation
- Potential changes to the subdivision design standards
- Suggestions for public involvement in future subdivision regulation revision projects
We recognized that these listening sessions are only one method for hearing from the community and may not capture every idea or suggestions, and many individuals may not be able to participate. Therefore, Rural Initiatives solicited comments and concerns, particularly on the subjects listed above.
For your reference, the current Missoula County Subdivision Regulations can be found here or copies are available for purchase from the Missoula Office of Planning and Grants.
If you have questions about this project, please do not hesitate to contact Karen Hughes at the Community and Planning Services Office at khughes@co.missoula.mt.us or 406-258-3432.
