At the start of the Jan. 5 meeting several members of the public used their allotted time to press the council on multiple community issues.

Suzette Dusseld thanked the council for extending the zoning rewrite deadline into January and said she only recently had time to review the guiding principles; she criticized recommendations that would concentrate the tallest, highest-density buildings downtown and said the changes risk "destroying" the historic fabric of Missoula’s downtown and Hip Strip.

Ellen Lauren, a Ward 1 resident and a chemistry student at the University of Montana, urged the council to adopt an official organic land-care policy and a transition timeline for city parks and playing fields in 2026, citing public-health and environmental concerns about pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and petrochemicals.

Jeremy Drake, a Ward 5 resident and baseball advocate, urged the council to retain natural grass at Auburn Park and called attention to emerging research about PFAS and microplastic shedding from artificial turf, heat-island effects and recyclability issues. He invited residents to a Missoulians for Natural Grass open house.

Other commenters raised procedural frustrations about public engagement on Midtown Commons and concerns that the city and project sponsors were not reliably answering consolidated citizen questions.

These remarks were part of the meeting’s non-agenda public-comment period; no formal action was taken on the items during the Jan. 5 meeting, though the council and staff were urged to continue outreach and to incorporate public feedback into future agenda items and committee reviews.