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Missoula candidates offer contrasting approaches to housing affordability and supply
Summary
Candidates in the Missoula City Council Wards 1 and 2 forum agreed housing is the city’s top problem but proposed different solutions: market-supply and regulatory changes, expanded accessory dwelling units, and social-ownership models such as community land trusts and municipal social housing.
Candidates for Missoula City Council in Wards 1 and 2 told a League of Women Voters forum that housing affordability and supply is the city’s most pressing issue, but they differed on how the city should respond.
The forum’s candidates framed the problem as a mix of rising property taxes, constrained development, and housing stock that is priced above wages for many Missoulians. “We need more housing,” Candidate Justin Ponton said, adding that he supports measures in the city’s new zoning framework including more-permissible accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to increase density. “I think less parking regulation will be good overall for developers,” Ponton said.
Why it matters: Candidates’ proposals would steer how Missoula manages growth, where density…
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