admin_v3_pages

age_question

analytics

archival_summary_mailer

brainstormer_emails

brainstormer_upgrades

campaign_monitor

chain_mailers

collect_only_year

consultation_hub

content_security_policy

content_security_policy_report_only

content_security_policy_strict

cookie_policy

custom_code

custom_js_tracking

dashboard

dashboard_filters_visibility

demographic_filter_text_analysis

digest_email_subscription

disable_akismet

disable_engagement_depth_query_optimization

disable_facebook_sdk

disable_google_analytics

disable_twitter_widget

disable_user_analytics_tracking

disallow_platform_admin_access

drip_campaigns

emoji_question

enable_active_directory_signup

enable_auto_hide_past_key_dates

enable_ehq_newsletter

enable_email_sharing_snippet

enable_froala_participant_css

enable_market_place

enable_material_sidebar

enable_modelled_data_age

enable_modelled_data_location

enable_newsfeed_date_settings

enable_participant_page_hub_filters

enable_pfe_authentication

enable_pfe_ideas

enable_pfe_survey

enable_reporting_filter_builder

enable_secret_key_question

enable_site_onboarding

enable_site_recaptcha

enable_static_page_question

enable_stock_image_library

enforce_sso

enhanced_skip_to_menu

enhanced_social_share

enhancements_on_places

esri_places_migration

follow_project_widget

forum_topic_optimization

full_page_graphs_in_reporting

google_translation_enabled

gov_delivery_integration

hide_participant_details_survey_analysis_pdf

homepage_upgrades

html_emails

hub_admin

hubs_on_new_appearance_editor

idea-tool-unverified-participation

idea_unverified_participation

image_editor

imgix_for_homepages

imgix_for_project_pages

intercom

load_theme_css_first

location_question

mailchimp

mapboxgl

marketplace_sms_integration

matomo_tracking

mentions

microcopy_overrides

modelled_data_ethnicity_field

modelled_data_gender_field

multi_level_links

multilingual_admin_interface

new_badge_paradigm

new_comment_feature

new_cookie_consent_manager

new_login_page_design

new_mapper

new_project_pages

new_story_telling_tool

new_surveys

new_user_profile

newsletter_tracking_code

notifications

open_documents_inline

open_survey

open_surveys

overview_dashboard_sharing

participants_page_revamp

pfe_header_v2

pfe_share_ideas_board

places_ui_upgrades

places_upgrade

port_project_to_bluehaven

prevent-protected-projects-in-catalogs

privacy_and_security

project_clone

project_finder_embed

project_page_editor

project_page_refresh

project_settings

project_sharing

project_tag_manager

project_tags_filters

protected_hubs_on_new_appearance_editor

quickpoll_share_link

readspeaker

registration_upgrades

render_site_header_in_places

report_download_confirmation

reporting_dashboard_optimised

reporting_dashboard_v2

reporting_ui

revamped_video_player

saved_filter_dashboard_sharing

scim_toggle

segment_analytics

segment_analytics_admin

segment_analytics_participant

self_service_hubs

shapefile_support_for_places

show_advance_search_text_analysis

show_bar_graph_for_checkbox_questions

show_context_link_analytics

show_css_overrides_editor_in_new_home_page_editor

show_custom_dashboard

show_customized_survey

show_date_filter_text_analysis

show_homepage_whitespaces

show_new_auto_notification_email

show_new_home_page_editor

show_new_user_profile_dropdown

show_participant_communities

show_project_banner

show_project_page_as_homepage

show_revised_survey

show_sentiment_analysis_in_text_analysis

show_split_data_for_likert_questions

show_table_for_ranking_questions

show_theme_variables

single-signon

social_share_modal

sorting_qanda_question

stop_forum_spam

submission_manager

submission_manager_places_photo_support

survey_analysis

survey_cross_tab

survey_qp_disable_unverified

survey_share_link

switch_to_admin_ui

switch_to_new_prm

tabs_reorder

text_analysis

text_analysis_2023

text_analysis_2023_sentiment_analysis

text_analysis_2024_entities

text_analysis_2024_keyphrases

text_analysis_v2

tool_enhancements

tool_tab_preview

tools_listing

unsplash_support_for_project_pages

upgraded_homepage_editor

upgraded_rich_text_editor

user_imports

user_profile_phase_2

v1_reports

v4_admin_marketplace

v5_interface_switch

walkme

weekly_digest_to_admins

widget_cloning

widget_scoping

Welcome to Engage Missoula, the City&#39;s online engagement platform. We know your comments help us make better decisions and design better projects, so we want to make that easy. Contribute your ideas and ask questions about featured projects at times that work best for you. We&rsquo;re excited to hear from you!

Engage Missoula

Join us in planning and designing Northside Parks.

Northside Parks

<h2 id="project-description--2">What is the Montana Land Use Planning Act? </h2>The <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/">2023 Montana State Legislative Session</a> passed a variety of land-use related bills and developed the <a href="https://legiscan.com/MT/text/SB382/2023">Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA).</a> The Montana Land Use Planning Act requires that cities in Montana with populations over 5,000 people that are located in counties with populations over 70,000 people update their land use plans and zoning and subdivision regulations within 3 years of the passage of the Act. The City of Missoula meets this population threshold and therefore is subject to the requirements of the MLUPA. <h2 id="project-description--2">Implications for Missoula</h2><h2>1. Public Participation Plan </h2>The MLUPA requires that continuous public participation be provided when adopting, amending, or updating a land use plan or land use regulations. A Public Participation Plan must be adopted that demonstrates how the City will meet the public participation requirements of the MLUPA. The MLUPA shifts the opportunities for public engagement surrounding land use and development to be during the planning and adoption of city land use plans and codes, rather than during site-specific developments. After the City&#39;s land use plan and land use regulations are adopted in compliance with MLUPA, many site-specific development projects will be reviewed administratively by the City. The scope of and opportunity for public participation and comment on site-specific development will be limited to the impacts of projects that were not previously identified and considered in the adoption, amendment, or update of the land use plan, zoning regulations, or subdivision regulations. This shift means that public participation during City planning processes, like the <a href="https://www.engagemissoula.com/hub-page/our-missoula">Our Missoula</a> project, is critical to ensuring that community voices are heard during the development of the City&rsquo;s land use policies and regulations. <h2>2. Planning Commission</h2><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW76363757 BCX0">Current: Missoula Consolidated Planning BoardFuture: The MLUPA requires that municipalities of a certain size establish a Planning Commission, which shall review and make recommendations to the City Council regarding the development, adoption, amendments, review and approval or denial of the land use plan, future land use map, zoning regulations, zoning map, subdivision regulations, and other legislative land use planning documents. In establishing initial compliance with MLUPA, the roles and responsibilities of the Planning Commission are like those of the existing Missoula Consolidate Planning Board. The City desires to establish the current Consolidated Planning Board as the Planning Commission for the City of Missoula for the purpose of implementation of MLUPA.Upon full implementation of the MLUPA, the City intends to establish a Municipal Planning Commission to fulfill the requirements for Planning Commissions outlined in the MLUPA. </div><h2>3. Updated Land Use Plan + Future Land Use Map</h2>Current: <a href="https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/3156/Our-Missoula-Growth-Policy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&#39;Our Missoula&#39; City Growth Policy 2035</a>Future: An updated land use plan is intended to identify the opportunities for development of land within the planning area for housing, businesses, agriculture, and the extraction of natural resources, while acknowledging and addressing the impacts of that development on adjacent properties, the community, the natural environment, public services and facilities, and natural hazards. Once updated, a land use plan must be reviewed every 5 years. The land use plan will need to be updated if the review shows new or increased impacts. A future land use map must be adopted in addition to a land use plan that reflects the preferred pattern of development within the City&rsquo;s jurisdiction over the next 20-years based on population and economic development projections, housing and local service needs, and public input received, while considering the environment, natural resources, and natural hazards of the area.<h2 id="project-description--2">4. Updated Zoning Code + Zoning Map</h2>The City must adopt a zoning map and zoning regulations that align with the updated land use plan and future land use map. Included in the MLUPA is a list of zoning reforms for encouraging housing - the City must adopt at least five of the listed options. <h2 id="project-description--2">5. Updated Subdivision Regulations</h2>After the land use plan and future land use map are updated, the City will also adopt updated subdivision regulations that reflect the Montana statutory requirements for subdivisions and subdivision review.<table style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);"> </td><td style="width: 28.9167%; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Now</td><td style="width: 28.9692%; text-align: center; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Future</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Preapplication Review</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">30 days</td><td style="width: 28.9692%;">30 days</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Element Review</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">5 days</td><td rowspan="2" style="width: 28.9692%;">20 days, combined (New findings = +15 days)</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Sufficiency Review</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">15 days</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Preliminary Plat, Review &amp; Approval*</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">35 days for Minor; 60 days for Major *Approval by City Council </td><td style="width: 28.9692%;">30 days *Approval by City Staff</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Preliminary Plat Time Limit </td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">3 yrs for Unphased Plats; 20 yrs for Phased Plats</td><td style="width: 28.9692%;">5 yrs for Unphased Plats; 20 yrs for Phased Plats</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Final Plat Intake + Compliance Review</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">20 days</td><td style="width: 28.9692%;">10 days</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 41.9568%; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);">Final Plat Review + Approval by City Council</td><td style="width: 28.9167%;">20 days</td><td style="width: 28.9692%;">20 days</td></tr></tbody></table><h2> </h2><h2 id="project-description--2">Connection to the <a href="https://www.engagemissoula.com/hub-page/our-missoula" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Missoula</a> Growth Policy Update &amp; Code Reform Project</h2>The city is currently in the process of aligning the requirements of this bill with the overall project workflow of the Our Missoula Growth Policy Update and Code Reform. This will include updates to the Land Use Plan, Title 20 and the Subdivision Regulations, with a deadline of May 2026. The <a href="https://emails.engagementhq.com/ls/click?upn=u001.T-2FP2-2BORqk2KtRtthp-2B-2Bp4VuJiT-2FgsGp23-2FXaG0mOcrJbP5o0Wj-2FJt3os-2BCOre9Zj2sNF1M58kHGJzLE540FdX6-2Bux1Fh7DsCOhHbqdCf3tuUC1Mm1r8B-2BhlLkG51pOEeEFT1992a8sxi5-2FU-2FuRM4VuigjswbtpvXT8u-2BhFnsC4oHn1AJznMwnEf9dft8yxa-2BVtpMT1mkIxE5W1WpZeX-2BKkN5gT8Yy2ufOOrVxiBj-2FjkG69ZVy-2BBUUxSWU-2FzHCA55qNahwDmeY-2FWTcmlrQ46cUmKeBLorohemsSmMCCm8WR7MvmEzTQgyKKLJA7zJXianE6Ne_aZb4-2B3dGqTEVv-2Ff0ShXxJUKq-2B2HfsyFR8siiukVB6AzmrryiKCRCxrHqJ89BdkM5n5mS-2FnvcmgO4S8bPrrB8m5wj1S-2FO1ku6z4ZCqdsQy8G-2FYL2vBCLjeIKQ0nMEHbbrCGgdpIrfNj8eieo0UHQ983Q1Id0k0FAZps-2FVCL-2FAbRRfWgDCcxTTX0td6yLNbKkWzKivw8w40C8w1vH6uGd-2B-2FHam56y1K324wSDGXKltqm8VYcYkNsdBjg3sWiAJT3SSrPnhIvN7Zo8AhuVdNVPUpZwB7pivE545FVlA114Kxr8-3D" target="_blank">Our Missoula: Growth Policy Update &amp; Code Reform project</a>, led by the Community Planning, Development, &amp; Innovation Department (CPDI), is an extensive planning process that will work with the community to update Missoula&#39;s vision for future growth and to modernize the City&#39;s development regulations, one of the key tools for achieving this vision.

The New Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA)

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW49799451 BCX0">The proposed amendments to Title 5 and Title 8, along with a resolution supporting the Title 5 amendments, will allow the City to use the regulatory tools at our disposal to address the spike in youth cannabis use while providing additional time to develop a more comprehensive approach. <h2 aria-level="2" class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">Code Changes</h2>There are two ordinances and one resolution in consideration regarding dispensary business licenses.</div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW49799451 BCX0"><ol><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">The proposed amendment to Title 5 enacts a prohibition on new business licenses for retail adult use or medical cannabis dispensaries pending review of the regulations applicable to such operations as a part of the City&rsquo;s Uniform Development Code Project.</li><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">The proposed amendment to Title 8 is intended to impose additional regulations concerning the sale and transaction of cannabis products in the City, including imposing a new criminal sanction of those that sell or give cannabis products to individuals under 21 years of age. </li><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">The resolution initiates a moratorium on accepting new business license applications for cannabis dispensary operations and calling for a review of the public health concerns regarding the large number of cannabis dispensary operations within the City. </li></ol></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW49799451 BCX0"><h2 aria-level="2" class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">Background and Support </h2>A <a class="Hyperlink SCXW49799451 BCX0" href="https://pub-missoula.escribemeetings.com/Meeting.aspx?Id=3939b7e6-90d7-47b7-897e-fb2ccfd8e87c&Agenda=Agenda&lang=English" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">special presentation on Youth Cannabis Use</a> occurred on May 9, 2024 discussing youth cannabis use and policies communities are enacting to keep youth safe. <h3>Facts</h3></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW49799451 BCX0"><ul><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">According to the state&rsquo;s Cannabis Control Division, Missoula County is home to 59 cannabis dispensaries and has one of the highest numbers of dispensaries per capita in the nation.</li><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">Even though the legal age for marijuana consumption is 21, youth marijuana usage has spiked since statewide legalization began in 2020.</li><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">In 2021, 24.5% of Missoula County high schoolers used marijuana on a regular basis, compared to 20% in 2019, which indicates a 22% increase in just two years, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. </li><li class="Paragraph SCXW49799451 BCX0">Between 2016 to 2021, emergency department encounters and hospitalizations for cannabis-related disorders increased 32% for teens ages 15 to 19 in Missoula County, according to the Montana Hospital Association and the Center for Population Health Research at the University of Montana. </li></ul></div>

Cannabis Dispensary Prohibition

Parks, Recreation, Open Space, & Trails Plan

Our Missoula Growth Policy Update & Code Reform

Information in the Missoula community travels fast— sometimes too fast to be accurate!  We'll give it to you straight. Fact check it here.

Fact or Fiction?  Ask Us!

Some development projects require a public review process.  Learn about and provide comments on projects currently under review.

Development Applications

Looking for a County project? Try Missoula County's new public engagement site.  (External)

Missoula County Voice

Developers, check the status of your project here and find out how we prioritize project review.

Development Application Queue

Win a Gift Card!