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Residents and commissioners debate neighborhood associations’ role, notice rules for development
Summary
Public commenters and commissioners discussed whether neighborhood associations should have both advisory and advocacy roles, how to resource them, and whether the charter should require notice to affected neighborhoods for development applications — with disagreement over when the notification trigger should occur.
Commissioners spent substantial time discussing how neighborhood associations should be recognized in the charter, the role they should play, and whether the charter should require notice to affected neighborhoods when development applications are submitted.
Mark Campanelli, a Bogart Park neighbor, told the commission he speaks for himself and urged that the inter-neighborhood council (INC) and neighborhood councils be allowed to play an advocacy role — not merely advisory functions — while warning that activism would be too far. Daniel Carty Boseman urged clear definitions of "advisory versus advocacy versus activism" and supported including the word "advocacy" in charter language.
Becky and others argued the city should support neighborhood associations with clearer channels of communication to city departments and with easier formation processes; Becky suggested the city consider staffing and grants to help sustain associations and recommended that affected neighborhoods be given notice upon submission of a development application, citing the Montana Land Use and Planning Act and related UDC changes that take effect in July 2027.
County commissioner and staff guests cautioned that tying notice to the application filing could be problematic because an application may never advance to a noticed stage; a county commissioner suggested the trigger for neighborhood notice should be when the project is formally noticed for public review rather than at initial application.
Public commenters emphasized the capacity challenge of maintaining neighborhood organizations. Sarah Osmond, a Valley Unit Neighborhood Association steering-committee member, said INC members conducted a survey and that, according to the INC liaison, the City Commission declined to discuss INC recommendations — a refusal she described as "deeply concerning." Jason Del Muil advised against inserting policy-level development-notice triggers into the city charter, saying they may be better suited for the UDC or other policy documents.
What happens next: commissioners tasked staff with drafting language that distinguishes charter provisions from recommendations and with clarifying the appropriate notice trigger (application receipt vs public notice) for inclusion in the charter or implementing documents.
