Crossroads: There Goes The Neighborhood... For The Better!
Community change can be difficult to realize and sometimes, difficult to stomach. We live in a place, or move to a place, and expect life around us to remain the same.
Complain and they’ll call you a NIMBY, or perhaps say nothing and suffer as the world around you becomes unrecognizable.
Our best results come when a variety of perspectives come together and talk things out. Call it grassroots or bottom-up, this is actually a concept embraced by the planning profession and even Montana planning laws. Community planning means a community working together on a shared vision.
Neighborhood planning
The concept of neighborhood planning is as simple as it sounds. Montana code endorses neighborhood plans as a strategy designed to highlight the specifics of a certain area, a neighborhood, to better plan that area for a strong future.
We are pleased to share two neighborhood planning processes currently in the works in Park County: the Livingston Downtown Plan and the Gardiner Neighborhood Plan.
Neighborhood plans, like growth policy plans, are not regulatory. They help set the framework and direction of future work, which may include the need for other plans, projects and/or regulatory structures like zoning districts.
Livingston Downtown Plan
As we anticipate (fingers crossed) good things in the new year, we’re excited to share results from work accomplished by MSU architect students participating in last fall’s Community Design Center. The CDC has a long history (40 years worth) of traveling the state endeavoring to “design a better world by creating spaces that inspire, shelter and comfort.”
We talked about this good work in the December Crossroads, starting with the Inventory of Space Utilization for Downtown Livingston, accomplished through the meticulous work of MSU interns, Shannon Payne and Caitlyn Ekberg.
On December 9, in the Lincoln School Auditorium, 10 MSU School of Architecture students led by director Brian Brush, shared their creative ideas for a Livingston re-imagined (Crossroads: Reimagining Downtown Livingston).
See a video about the student projects here!
We’ll post their projects online once they’re available in digital form. In the meantime, all 13 projects have been bound in book-form (we’re getting more books). Projects range in scope, scale, use and location. There is an environmental non-profit co-working space, Wilcoxson’s Visitors Center, a mixed-use plaza, hydroponic vertical garden, indoor/outdoor market, mixed-use residential development, community climbing center, a hostel and transitional housing, a diner and speakeasy and a favorite: the Little Free Everything Wall.
Hats off to CDC director, Brian Brush, and students: John Carson, Sadie Collins, Grant Fink, Zane Long, Matt Mamich, Maddie May, Royce Rheinschild, Rebecca Savage, Wes Ulrich, and Gunnar Vega.
Livingston’s current downtown plan, the Urban Design Framework Master Plan, is 20 years old. We would provide a link but there isn’t one. It’s obvious that many hours went into preparation of this plan which makes many good recommendations about community vision, goals and various aspirations.
While many aspects of this plan may still be relevant, it is important to note that one great reason to update plans is to vest the current community in preparation of those plans. Over the past two decades, things have changed, people have moved in, moved out, the local economy has shifted, housing has become increasingly problematic, and more.
We’re excited about starting the process of updating our downtown plan, taking the best from the old one and weaving in new information to keep up with present times. We’ll keep you updated as the process continues to unfold. Thanks to the Community Design Center for getting us started!
Gardiner residents asking for input on draft Gardiner Neighborhood Plan
The community of Gardiner has been diligently working on a neighborhood plan of its own over the past couple of years as a follow-up to Successful Gardiner which started in 2019.
More information on the draft plan can be found on the Gardiner newsletter and at the following upcoming meetings:
Gardiner Community Townhall - Gardiner School Auditorium
Thursday, March 3, social with food/drink begins at 6:30 p.m., event begins at 7 p.m.
Gardiner Community Zoom Meetings
Thursday, March 10, Zoom begins at noon and 6 p.m.
Additional information and zoom link information is available by contacting Pat Baltzley, successfulgardiner@gmail.com, or at 410-979-1594
Happy Trails, Mathieu Menard!
We are sad to see Livingston Deputy Planning Director, Mathieu Menard, leave Livingston. He recently accepted a job as “Code and Policy Planner” for the city of Bellevue, WA. Mathieu was instrumental in helping Livingston update the Growth Policy, as well as many other good things for our community. Many thanks to Mathieu and we wish him the best in Bellevue!