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Missoula planners present draft Unified Development Code; state law limits some local options
Summary
City planning staff outlined a draft Unified Development Code that consolidates multiple codes, translates place-type maps into zoning, and responds to the 2023 Montana Land Use and Planning Act; staff noted state statutory limits cited in the presentation, including a prohibition on mandatory inclusionary zoning.
City planning staff presented a draft Unified Development Code (UDC) that bundles eight topic-specific code sections into a single framework intended to translate place-type maps into zoning districts, streamline permitting and align local rules with recent state law changes.
Cassie Trippard, the city's planning supervisor, described the UDC as a consolidation of permitting, subdivision, infrastructure, building and other provisions so the land-use plan's place types become actionable zoning. "This plan identified 6 major policy themes that will be implemented by the code," Trippard said on the program.
The presentation noted that the 2023 Montana Land Use and Planning Act altered the state framework and that some statutory limits constrain local authority. The broadcast cited the statute referenced in the presentation (recorded in the transcript as "76 25 3 0 3") and said those limits include a prohibition on mandatory inclusionary zoning: "It contains the requirements, that the city cannot do inclusionary zoning, meaning we can't require affordable housing," the presenter said.
Staff emphasized community outreach that included open houses and hundreds of participants; they also described that the city must adopt a minimum set of zoning reforms but retains discretion about which reforms to implement. Next steps include further review by planning boards, additional public input, and scheduled follow-ups before final adoption and vote.
