Missoula commissioners signal intent to adopt Swan Valley neighborhood plan, add floodplain and fire-resiliency edits

The Missoula County Board of County Commissioners voted Jan. 29 to adopt a resolution of intent to adopt the Swan Valley neighborhood plan as an amendment to the county's growth policy, with amendments to the plan's future land-use map to reflect FEMA floodplain mapping and edits to the fire-resiliency section.

County planners said the plan is a policy document, not a regulatory zoning ordinance, and staff emphasized that adding the floodplain designation to the future land-use map aligns the plan with existing FEMA designations rather than imposing new regulations today. Lauren Ryan, planner with the Office of Planning, Development and Sustainability, told the board the neighborhood plan is the product of more than two years of public engagement and a community questionnaire intended to capture local values on housing, development, natural resources and infrastructure.

Ian (Speaker 16), a planning staff presenter, described three alternatives the committee presented to residents: alternative 1 (targeted zoning to restrict large resort, heavy industry and tall telecom towers), alternative 2…