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Aspire subdivision dispute splits council; staff map change to UR2 passes 9–3
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Summary
Councilors and East Missoula residents clashed over whether the Aspire subdivision’s Phase 6 building types required UR3 zoning. After legal and technical discussion, council approved staff’s map amendment to change the parcel from UR3 to UR2 and restored the place type to urban residential high (9–3).
A central dispute at the Feb. 2 Missoula City Council meeting focused on the Aspire Subdivision in East Missoula and whether recent council downzoning should stand. Residents of East Missoula said last week’s downzoning restored fairness and reflected neighborhood constraints; developers and some staff argued the change could prevent construction of the building types originally approved.
Erin Cahan of CPDI told the council that Urban Residential 2 (UR2) and Urban Residential 3 (UR3) are similar in floor-area-ratio until higher unit-count thresholds but differ in maximum lot coverage and how building forms can be configured. Developer representative Bridal Brockmore (appearing in the record) said Phase 6 had been designed with rowhouse/ten-plex building types to block highway noise and that changing the zoning would force expensive redesign.
City Attorney Ryan Sudbury explained that the subdivision approval and annexation had been challenged in district court and those claims were dismissed as untimely; he said council remains free to change zoning until property owners attain vested building permit rights. Mary McCray (Development Services) reminded council that if the place type is changed to LUR2, any rezone later would require a land-use-plan amendment and Planning Commission review.
Councilors split over competing priorities. Some argued the city should stand by the August subdivision approval and the annexation framework; others prioritized neighborhood infrastructure and the original downzone in response to public comment. Council adopted staff’s amendment to change the Aspire parcel’s zoning from UR3 to UR2 while restoring the place type to urban residential high; the roll call recorded nine votes in favor and three opposed.
Councilors pledged Phase 2 and future work on design standards and infrastructure sequencing to ensure that future site-specific rezones or amendments could be considered with better information and community engagement. Staff also noted that the subdivision’s final phasing dates place Phase 1 final plat filing at 12/31/2028 and Phase 6 final filing at 12/31/2038, giving time for future refinements.
