Car-free in Montana

Those opposed to ADUs claim they are worriedabout the “character” of a neighborhood and the density that they maybring with them. I may be wrong, but what I hear is that people don’twant those with lower incomes mixing into their nice, high incomeneighborhoods….

The reality is that this is an issue of howwe, as a community, want to accommodate future growth. Missoula alreadyhas a large problem when it comes to supplying affordable housing, sodo we want to continue to build large apartment complexes full of lowand middle income residents on the edge of town, like those built inthe last few years around North Reserve? This creates an additionalproblem of forcing people who have less means to afford commuting tohave longer commutes.

We have a choice to make. Do we wantdevelopment to occur on the edge of town, or do we want to concentrateon infill? If we continue to grow outwards, large developers, retiringfarmers, and the construction industry win out big, but Missoula willlose valuable farm land, open space, and wildlife habitat that helps tomake Missoula a great place to live, while taking more money fromtaxpayers for infrastructure, increasing congestion, and pollution. Ifwe choose infill, we get to keep the overall character of Missoula,keep the open spaces we love so much for recreation, and create a morewalkable community while giving homeowners the ability to invest intheir own property to provide abetter income and home for Missoula residents not lucky enough toafford a home.