Missoula County Government: Missoula County Invites Public To Comment On Housing Action Plan

Press release from the Missoula County Government:

10/14/2021 12:00 PM

• Media Releases

• Contact Us
• Boards, Committees, Councils and Special Districts
• Current Vacancies
• Online Application
• Governing Boards
  • Aging Services Governing Board
  • Airport Authority Board
  • Florence-Carlton Cemetery Board
  • Health Boards
  • Historical Museum Board
  • Library Board
  • Lolo Mosquito Abatement District Board
  • Missoula Urban Transportation District Board
  • Seeley Lake Cemetery District Board
  • Tax Appeal Board
  • Zoning Board of Adjustment

• Contact Us
• Help
  • Customer Service Request
  • Page Layout & Usage
  • Site Navigation
  • Site Map
• Departments, Divisions and Programs

• Animals & Pets
• Arts & Culture
• Birth, Death & Other Records
• Business
• Resolutions & Ordinances
• Community Communications
• Community Development

• About Missoula County
  • Mission, Vision & Values
  • Calendar
  • Customer Service Request
  • Elected Officials
  • What is County Government?
  • Frequently Asked Questions

• Apply for
  • a building permit
  • a burn permit (purchase or activate)
  • County employment
  • a food or lodging license
  • a marriage license
  • a septic permit or well permit
  • a volunteer position on a County board, commission, or committee
• Contact
  • a crime victim advocate
  • a community council
  • a Missoula County department
  • the Commissioners' Office
• Donate to
  • the Friends of the Shelter
  • the Friends of the Library
  • the Friends of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

• Email

Missoula County is seeking public input on the new Housing Action Plan: Breaking Ground.  

The County developed the draft plan in response to the rapidly evolving housing market in the County and the growing population that has created an undersupply of housing at all price points. Missoula County has a shortage of about 2,400 housing units, with home prices rising much faster than incomes.  

The public is invited to review the draft plan and provide feedback at missoula.co/housing or by leaving a message at 406-258-3444 through Friday, Nov. 12. 

 The current draft of the plan highlights multiple strategies the County could pursue to ensure more options are available, including:  

• Use the County’s existing toolkit to increase housing supply, such as adopting zoning to provide certainty about where development is encouraged, investing in infrastructure in areas planned for growth, and creating a framework for acquiring and/or using land owned by the County for affordable housing development. 

• Expand programs and funding to help people access and stay in stable housing, such as developing a program that provides down-payment assistance, preserving low-cost, market-rate housing, and exploring new funding sources for affordable housing development and infrastructure investment. 

“The County needs more housing of all types, but it especially needs more units that are affordable to mid- and lower-income people,” Housing Specialist Jordan Lyons said. “This plan will be Missoula County’s strategy to effectively address the barriers to housing, and the more public participation we have in the process the more effective we will be in meeting the needs in our community.”  

Building on the City’s housing policy, A Place to Call Home, the draft County Housing Action Plan is the product of months of stakeholder engagement. A steering committee comprised of representatives from private and nonprofit housing providers, banks and community advocates oversaw development of the draft. Earlier this year, Missoula County’s Community Needs Assessment asked about housing and received 887 responses. Respondents identified priorities including developing more units, expanding infrastructure and the need for down payment assistance.  

“As with all complicated issues, there is no silver bullet that will mitigate all housing issues in the County,” Commissioner Dave Strohmaier said. “But this plan will provide a collective set of actions, investments and relationships over time that will lead to better outcomes than if we did nothing. We believe those actions, taken together, will move the needle and make housing more affordable for more people.”  

Public input on the draft County Housing Action Plan received by Nov. 12 will be incorporated into a new draft the Missoula Consolidated Planning Board will consider at a public hearing in December. The final version of the Housing Action Plan will be presented to the Missoula Board of County Commissioners as a growth policy amendment in early 2022.   

"High housing costs are a true 'wicked problem,'” Lyons said. “There is no single underlying cause, and no quick fix. The market will not fill in the gap in the housing units we need in the short-term. But this plan sets a course for sustainable growth in our housing supply and prioritizes the members of our community who have been shut out of housing they can afford."  

Once adopted, Lyons will oversee plan implementation, including monitoring progress on the priorities and action steps.   

For questions related to the County Housing Action Plan, please contact Lyons at 406-529-0533 or jlyons@missoulacounty.us. 

###

This press release was produced by the Missoula County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.