FAQs

A master plan establishes priorities for public-sector action while at the same time providing direction for complementary private-sector decisions. The plan and its guidelines serve as a tool to evaluate new development proposals, direct capital improvements, and to guide public policy in a manner that realizes the vision and reflects community values and needs.  The plan will likely contain an illustrative plan, diagrams, maps, and pictures to make concepts clear and accessible to public officials, residents, developers, community groups, and other stakeholders.

A master plan plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of a community, and as such, it is critical that the plan is created with the community as mutual authors to help ensure the plan reflects community values and needs.  The virtual charrette is the cornerstone of this designing in public process and more information on what a virtual charrette is can be found below.

The Envision West Broadway Master Plan seeks to gather big-picture input from the citizens of Missoula and establish a long-term vision for the future of the West Broadway area and how it should evolve in the coming years. The roughly 15-acre project site on the western edge of Missoula’s downtown is bounded by West Broadway Street, North Russell Street, North California Street and the Clark Fork River. This project will build upon the ideas of Missoula’s Downtown Master Plan. Missoula’s Downtown Master Plan provided robust opportunities for input both in-person and digitally over the span of several months with input received from several thousand people from a variety of backgrounds. While there was some discussion of what the West Broadway area could become in the future, no solid vision for what the area could ultimately be was settled on. As ownership patterns in the West Broadway area have evolved, there is now an opportunity to work closely with the community to develop a more specific vision for the area.

Yes, over the course of the planning process, the project team will hold several community events. To stay informed, please register at the top of the Engage Missoula page and Join the Conversation. The project team will use this email list to provide regular updates on the time and location of community events.

The design team has prepared a DRAFT Plan based on input from neighborhood residents, business and property owners, and other community members to determine how the West Broadway area will look in the future. Visit www.envisionwestbroadway.com to review and comment on the DRAFT Plan.

A charrette is an intensive planning session where citizens, designers, community leaders, and technical experts collaborate on a vision for future growth and development. It provides a forum for creative ideas and provides both immediate and ongoing feedback loops between designers, stakeholders, and the community. More importantly, it allows everyone who participates to be a mutual author of the plan.

The charrette focuses on community input over a short period of time, through various means such as in-person or online meetings and exercises representing a full spectrum of interests in Missoula. The consultant team uses the results of this effort to evolve the vision over the subsequent days at the planning studio. Throughout the week, the community’s goals for each focus area of the plan are pursued while ideas and scenarios are tested.

This community design method has worked successfully in Missoula with past initiatives and you are invited to participate in the Envision West Broadway Gateway project by engaging in the Virtual Charrette. 

This is your opportunity to offer your feedback on the work as it is being produced by expressing your vision for the future of the West Broadway Gateway area. Your participation will make the difference between a good plan and a great plan. Please join us!

The unprecedented COVID-19 global emergency has pushed us to move this public process entirely online.

EVERYONE! Especially Westside neighbors, business and property owners in the area. We encourage you to participate in all the meetings and complete each of the surveys, and to share them with your friends, family, and community to spread the word about the plan.

During these public events, the planning team will be asking questions to help understand why the West Broadway Gateway area is important for the community and what the vision for the future should be. Participating in the Charrette will give you a chance to share your vision for the West Broadway Master Plan. 

Your participation will make the difference between a good plan and a great plan!

We encourage you to participate in all the meetings and to invite your friends, family, and community. In response to COVID-19, the charrette will be held in a Virtual format, allowing community members the opportunity to participate providing input from home.

Outside scheduled events, you can continue to provide your feedback through online polls and surveys. Your feedback helps us make better decisions, and so we want to make that easy. Contribute your ideas and ask questions about featured projects at times that work best for you. We’re excited to hear from you!

If you are having trouble joining an online meeting, please watch this video: How to join a Zoom meeting?

The Envision West Broadway website allows you to have your say on issues that are important to you, at a time and place that works for you. It’s a quick, convenient, and accessible way to have your say on a range of issues and topics.

• It’s a great way to keep up-to-date and contribute your views on issues and projects affecting your community.
• You can see what others think about an issue or topic, respond with your own views, and engage in a discussion.
• You don't have to attend community meetings at a set place and time, or if you missed or were unable to attend a meeting, you can still provide your feedback after.
• It allows for a range of people with different views to discuss matters that affect our community.
• It enables the planning team to reach out to a wider array of people to gather comments and improve our plans and projects.

Ideally this planning process would have both in-person and virtual options for community participation. Unfortunately, due to the prevalence of COVID-19, we have made the decision to minimize in-person gatherings, and provide robust on-line participation opportunities.

While registration is not required to access general information, it is necessary for you to be able to participate in many of the more interactive engagement opportunities. We ask you to register on the website for a few reasons. First, it helps ensure that a broader set of perspectives have an opportunity to be represented by attributing feedback and frequency of feedback to individuals. It also promotes accountability and encourages people to provide more thoughtful responses. And finally, it allows us to follow up with you to give you more information about the projects you are interested in and let you know how we used your ideas.

The project team collects and compiles all comments, ideas, and suggestions and uses them to inform the development of strategies, programs, and activities or to gain an insight into community views and opinions. Often, comments provided online help augment face-to-face consultations such as meetings, open houses, or surveys. All ideas and opinions provided during the consultation will be considered; however, this does not mean that every suggestion will affect the project or be adopted as proposed. NOTE: All comments you make through this website will become public records for anyone to read.

If you have other questions that have not been addressed here, please contact the City’s project manager Annette Marchesseault through email marchesseaulta@ci.missoula.mt.us or phone 406.552.6158.