Another Case for County-Wide Zoning in Missoula

December 9, 2007 in DEQ, Missoula, Missoula County Commissioners, Zoning and Planning

by jhwygirl

DEQ officials are letting everyone know that only zoning can stop a gravel pit proposed by JTL up near Lolo.

No surprise there – legislation passed in the 2005 session made that true. It’s not like the county commissioners didn’t know it either – they did an emergency resolution related to that ’05 legislation back in October 2005.

The ’05 state legislation, BTW, was the result of a similar situation in Flathead County.

So who’s to blame – DEQ, JTL or the Missoula BCC?

And – believe it or not – I have another case for county-wide zoning just waiting to be written.

Save the (insert your choice here)

December 9, 2007 in Affordable Housing, City planning, Gentrification, Missoula City Council, Zoning and Planning

by Ed Childers

Affordable housing. Save the north hills. Save the south hills. Save the farmland. Protect my neighborhood. Give me a place where I can live.

There may be some mix of people that makes for a good place to live. If I knew what it was, maybe I could do something to encourage it.

I know I’ve left something or someone out. I need some answers. Tell me what to do.Here’s a hypothetical mix of incomes.

10% not working/need complete subsidy.

20% barely making it, do menial work.

30% sort of making it, have places to live because they bought 15 years ago, have sort of not too bad jobs.

20% have those great incomes, either from jobs or retirements or whatever, that allow them to buy those 200,000-500,000 dollar houses you see getting built everywhere.

10% can get whatever they need. They may not want the rest of us living near them.

10% so rich they don’t need anything.

There’s 2% more people every year. They’re born here or move here.

The population ages 2% every year.

So there’s a hypothetical money mix. Fix the mix if you want, I don’t care and for my purposes it probably doesn’t matter. The question I’m asking are, Should all these people have places to live? and, Where or what should they be?