Missoula County Subdivision Regulation Routine Maintenance 2024
Missoula County commissioners adopted these regulation updates at their public meeting on April 11, 2024.
The Missoula County Department of Planning, Development and Sustainability is completing routine maintenance to the Missoula County Subdivision Regulations that were last updated in 2020. This routine maintenance is intended to address regulatory changes from previous Montana legislative sessions. When a conflict between state statutes and local regulations exists, staff always follows the state statute.
Key legislative changes from the 2022 session include an expedited timeline for exemptions in subdivision, changes to the family transfer exemption, a process for review of administrative minor subdivisions, and changes to new information with phased development.
Staff also made amendments where the code needed clarifications, better alignment with processes or procedures and general housekeeping. Finally, staff changed any typographical errors and made copy edits throughout the regulations.
Staff hosted an online informational meeting on this routine maintenance on Feb. 1. Join the meeting via Microsoft Teams, meeting ID: 264 715 181 736, passcode: 4p23sM. You can also join via the phone at 406-272-4824, ID 171198297.
The Missoula City-County Consolidated Planning Board opened a public hearing on these updates at their regularly scheduled meetings on Feb. 6 and made a recommendation on Feb. 20.
The Missoula County commissioners then opened their hearing and made a decision on these updates on April 11.
You can find the adopted maintenance updates on this page under "Documents" on the right-hand side. Please keep in mind these documents have not been formatted to their final version. After final adoption of the maintenance updates, the documents will be reformatted and published.
Watch the informational meeting staff held on Feb. 1 below:
Let us know your thoughts on maintenance updates to the subdivision regulations.
Missoula County commissioners adopted these regulation updates at their public meeting on April 11, 2024.
Missoula County commissioners adopted these regulation updates at their public meeting on April 11, 2024.
Who's Listening
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Phone 406-258-3706 Email lryan@missoulacounty.us -
Phone 406-258-3707 Email ahagemeier@missoulacounty.us
Videos
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Informational Meeting on Feb. 1
I have no doubt that you worked hard to update the language in these changes to reflect your vision of Missoula County, and I appreciate that. However, there are many instances of new language that is utterly subjective, without any qualitative measure. For example, 1.6.5–“in harmony with the natural environment” is nebulous and impossible to enforce. Unless you are creating a Harmony Task Force, which would be both incongruous and ironic. The language crafted on public notice (especially in 5.7.7.2) is actually more insulting than helpful, which I am sure was not your intent. Those of us who live outside of Missoula city limits may only represent 40% of the total population, but we have continually asked for representation that reflects the agency (of lack thereof) you have bestowed upon us. Please feel free to attend a community council meeting—don’t worry, there are many available seats. We stopped relying on our councils when we realized they had zero power, and they were just performative exercises to gaslight us under the auspices of HARMONY. All the power lies with the commissioners. The new subdivisions would never have survived a public vote. It’s very sweet that you would like to offer fifteen days notice to the smaller communities that will be posted in an auspicious place. Unless that auspicious place is on the t-shirts of gas station employees, you have purposely created communities without opportunities or services that could create familiarity and civic engagement. If you live in the city of Missoula, communication is facilitated by those you entrust by voting them into office. Outside of the city, your own records show county residents have written a massive amount of letters and statements protesting these subdivisions. In 1.6.1 through 1.6.9, the people who actually bear the brunt of poorly executed subdivisions are the 40% who have no voice, and no seat at the table. It’s a lovely gesture to post a meeting with fifteen days notice in an auspicious place, but our forums would do nothing to change your plans, should we be so lucky to stumble upon anything auspicious in towns you have robbed of character. Finally, you neglected to correct one typographical error, and I will not identify it, unless compelled by the Harmony Task Force.