Missoula debate over UDC amendments centers on trade-offs between green space and housing density

Missoula residents, developers and city officials debated proposed changes to the city’s Unified Development Code (UDC) on the Jan. 30 Wake Up Missoula program, focusing on landscaping, parking and building-height trade-offs that officials say are intended to help increase housing supply.

The issue drew repeated public comment. Abby Hugheseth of Climate Smart Missoula said she supports staff recommendations in the adoption draft for landscaping and cash-in-lieu provisions and warned that green infrastructure ‘‘is not an optional piece of our community’s development puzzle that can be compromised away.’’ She cited studies linking access to nearby green space with health and climate benefits.

Developers and their representatives argued that stringent landscaping and other suburban-level requirements limit density and raise costs. Colin Lane of MMW Architects said the code “as written without amendments requires a suburban level of landscaping” that would make it harder to build the number of units Missoula needs for growth. Developer Mike Robinson described a 36-unit project built on roughly 0.4 acres and said density enabled lower rents without subsidies; he said the proposed amendments are “critical” to permit similar privately financed projects.

City staff and some council members framed the amendments as tools for flexibility, not wholesale removal of standards. Staff member Derek Goldman recommended matching place types to actual infrastructure in East Missoula before rezoning parcels, and Mike Nugent clarified that recent amendments did not waive sidewalk or street-tree requirements. Councilmember Sean Patrick McCoy said the motion would give the council flexibility to balance competing goals now and evaluate results later.

Parking was a separate point of contention. Councilmember Merta Becerra said she could support lowering minimum parking requirements in the future but only after investments in sidewalks, bike lanes and transit are in place; she said Missoula is not ready to reduce parking without that infrastructure. Several commenters and speakers raised concern that reduced on-site landscaping or parking requirements might accelerate development but also strain parks and public services if not paired with commensurate public investment.

Speakers repeatedly contrasted permanently deed-restricted affordable housing with market-rate projects, with at least one staff comment noting developers worry that tying some concessions only to permanently affordable units could push remaining units toward higher rents. Common Good Missoula’s Lisa Davie described the staff recommendations as an attempt to add housing responsibly without causing sprawl or eroding neighborhood character.

The council and staff signaled that some parking and landscaping questions are likely to be deferred to a second phase of UDC revisions. No formal vote or ordinance adoption was recorded on the broadcast; participants discussed amendments, public comments and next steps in the process.

The UDC discussion will continue through the Land Use and Planning process and future council meetings; comments heard on Jan. 30 focused on balancing housing production with green infrastructure and transportation investments.