MISSOULA - 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. Seeley Lake is specifically mentioned with Lolo to increase housing supply by accelerating planning for and investment in infrastructure (sewer, water, roads, broadband and transit).
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. These goals include:
• 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.
Infrastructure availability (especially sewer and water) is critical to enable the construction of a range of needed housing types, including affordable housing. This action focuses resources on Seeley Lake, Lolo and other areas where the County would like to see growth, and aligns a range of County goals (including housing, land use planning and the environment) with plans for infrastructure provision.
Initial implementation steps proposed for Seeley Lake and Lolo include: update or develop plans to guide investments in infrastructure, construction of housing and management of utilities to desired areas of growth; develop preliminary engineering plans; continue to seek opportunities for staffing and grant resources for infrastructure and development planning.
• 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.
• Build implementation capacity through strong partnerships and administrative functions, such as partnering with other Montana jurisdictions to advocate for changes to state and federal housing policy.
“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.
The draft plan is available at https://www.missoulacounty.us/government/community-development/community-planning-services/grants-community-programs/projects-and-programs/housing. For questions related to the County Housing Action Plan, please contact Lyons at 406-529-0533 or jlyons@missoulacounty.us.
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