Livingston City Manager highlights plan for implementing Growth Policy

On Tuesday, Livingston City Manager Grant Gager presented a Growth Policy Implementation Work Plan to the City Commission.

Adopted in June 2021, the new Livingston Growth Policy represents a shared community vision for how Livingston will prepare for future growth and change. The policy represents the input and good work of many, many people in our community.

The Work Plan includes updates to zoning, subdivision regulations, working to make housing more affordable, creating a Community Resilience Plan, updating a Downtown Master Plan and more.

You can watch the presentation here.

It’s an ambitious work plan.

“This implementation is one that we expect will take several years,” Gager said. 

Gager was hired in November, along with new city planning director Jennifer Severson, and the city staff has since sorted through the hundreds of growth policy recommendations and goals to determine priorities and how the recommendations work together. The plan has four main categories: Land-Use Recommendations; Housing; Resiliency; and Place-making and Community Character.

Overall, the presentation felt like a significant moment for the City of Livingston.

City staff and boards are committed to making policy changes that implement the vision of the citizens of Livingston.

This is a win for our community and for you, PCEC members and supporters. PCEC worked to help raise necessary funds for and awareness about the growth policy update, and our members showed up to make sure our community voice was heard and the update process was a success. 

You attended dozens of community conversations on planning issues and put in countless hours formulating comments and attending planning board meetings, zoning commission meetings and city commission meetings. Your public comments on the Growth Policy, as well as the Housing Action Plan and Trails and Active Transportation Plan, that were adopted into the Growth Policy, all form the bedrock to positive community driven change. Thank you!

You all had a strong vision for the future of Livingston, and that vision is now becoming a reality.
 

Here’s the city’s Initial Work Plan, which includes four priority areas:

1. Land-use Recommendations

- Zoning Ordinance Update

- Subdivision Regulation Review

- Future Land Use Map

- Planned Unit Development Overlay

“The top priority for the city is updating the land-use recommendations,” Gager said. “Most of these will need to go through the Zoning Commission.”

The zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations will not be updated until April because of possible changes made during this legislative session. Gager said he anticipates the city will hire some outside consultants to help with these updates.

Because of that, the city will begin with a Planned Unit Development Overlay District, which will be considered by both the Planning Board and the Zoning Commission.

Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) are a common zoning device used across the United States that allow for flexible land use designations in a certain area. PUDs call for a site plan for a large development and allow for flexibility in the development in exchange for additional community benefit. Gager said PUDs in Livingston would promote the protection of natural areas, mixed-use development and promote traditional land use patterns like those in Downtown Livingston.

PUDs combine several land-use recommendations across the Growth Policy.

 

2. Housing

  • Housing Action Plan

  • Urban Renewal Plan

“Affordable housing is probably No. 1 on my list of items,” Gager said.

The work on housing will include implementing recommendations from the Housing Action Plan, which include low-income housing tax credits, zoning updates and other recommendations. 

Gager also said it will be important to work with the Urban Renewal Agency to help increase the amount of housing downtown. He said the second and third floors of many downtown buildings include places that people used to live.

"The quickest and cheapest housing units are ones that already exist. They need to be back in use," Gager said.

 

3. Resiliency

  • Community Resiliency Plan

  • Energy Action Plan

  • Flood Mitigation and Response Planning

"After this summer, that's probably top of mind for many community members," Gager said.

We know that’s especially true of PCEC members, who have been affected by the June 2022 flood and who volunteered to help the community respond to and recover from the flood.

For this work, Gager and Chairwoman Melissa Nootz highlighted the importance of the work currently underway by AmeriCorps VISTA Katherine Fazekas, who is working with PCEC to help create a Community Resilience Plan. 

Katherine began with PCEC in August and has conducted dozens of interviews with local experts, decision makers and stakeholders in recent months. The plan will identify vulnerabilities and provide recommendations to help Park County adapt to anticipated climate impacts like flood, drought, wildfire and other changes. 

If you want to learn more, attend the city of Livingston Conservation Board meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m., where Katherine is presenting her work. The meeting will be held in the basement of the City-County Building and is also on Zoom at this link.

 

4. Place-making and Community Character

  • Downtown Master Plan

  • Historical and Cultural Amenities

  • Site Plan Reviews

  • Gateway Design Overlay Districts

The fourth area of focus for Growth Policy Implementation calls for a variety of work that will include the Urban Renewal Agency, the Tree Board, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Parks and Trails Committee.

The City of Livingston plans to begin an update to the Downtown Master Plan in the coming months. This is really exciting, as a lot of groundwork has been accomplished with support from PCEC over the past few years to make this happen: 

1) Livingston was reinstated in the Montana Main Street program; 

2) Montana State’s Community Design Center completed a downtown inventory in 2021; 

3) Livingston was featured in the CDC’s 2021 fall studio program with the great work of 11 architectural students; and 

4) Funding has been secured. 

Fixing infrastructure that already exists instead of building new infrastructure is a smart and cost-effective way for Livingston to grow. Finding ways to strengthen and invest in our downtown is a clear community priority.

The Historic Preservation Commission will discuss historic and cultural sites in the coming months.

The Parks and Trails Committee will focus on parks and pedestrian projects, signage and wayfinding, and a Parks Master Plan, according to the work plan.

A number of boards, including the Tree Board, Zoning Commission and others, will work to finally establish Gateway Design Overlay Districts and accompanying design standards, which have been the goal of the city for more than five years.

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