Open Space in Missoula, Montana| a Case Study
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1983 Open space in Missoula, Montana| A case study David Patrick Desch The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Desch, David Patrick, "Open space in Missoula, Montana| A case study" (1983). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 3136. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/3136 This Professional Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OPEN SPACE IN MISSOULA, MONTANA A CASE STUDY By David Patrick Desch B.S., Colorado State University, 1977 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Administration UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1983 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School 'd- ^ 3 Date UMI Number: EP35351 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI Ditsartâtion RAIiaNng UMI EP35351 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code uest* ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Table of Contents Page Chapter I. INTRODUCTION..............................................1 The Concept of Open Space Planning Purpose of Paper II. ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR ACQUIRING OPEN SPACE . 6 Zoning Fee Simple Purchase Transfer of Development Rights Conservation Easements Successful Open Space Programs III. INITIAL EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE OPEN SPACE IN MISSOULA . 22 Emergence of the Issue The Conservation Bond IV. ACQUIRING OPEN SPACE INMISSOULA .................. 34 Voter Approval of the Conservation Bond The Open Space Ordinance Actual Acquisition Decisions V. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................... 61 APPENDIX .................................................... 76 A. Missoula and Environs B. Clark Fork River Corridor C. Mount Sentinel D. Mount Jumbo SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................... 8 2 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Concept of Open Space Planning In the United States the need for open space in and near cities was not generally accepted until the late nineteenth century. Recognition of this need grew out of the belief that crowded living conditions in the city adversely affected the residents' physical, mental, and spiritual health. Early arguments in favor of reserving open space in the form of urban parks were advanced by reformers such as Frederick Law Olmstead, the principal designer of Central Park in New York City. In Olmstead's day, cities in the eastern United States were growing rapidly, putting rural areas beyond the reach of city dwellers, especially beyond the reach of the immigrant population living in tenements.^ Olmstead, the product of a small New England town, believed that a facsimile of the rural landscape would serve as a panacea for the vice, 2 crime, and other ills that permeated the city slums. David W. Fischer, John E. Lewis, George B. Priddle, eds.. Land and Leisure; Concepts and Methods in Outdoor Recreation, (Chicago; Maaroufa Press, 1974), p. 15. ^Ibid, p. 16. The benefits of open space planning were widely recognized by the end of the nineteenth century. It was argued that one need only look at the crime and mental illness that flourished in the absence of trees, gardens, and fresh air in order to be convinced that open spaces were needed. A San Francisco newspaper in the mid-nineteenth century articulated the following view: "A grand park within the reach of every citizen would do more in preventing disturbances and vice than had all the sermons preached"; parks would "keep away the poor and the young from the temptations scattered all about them."^ Olmstead's hopes were realized with the creation of Central Park in New York City. Central Park represented the first successful attempt to create a major city park in the 4 United States: a "Walden for the masses." Central Park started a trend that swept the country. Observing New York's success, major cities across the United States immediately began plans for parks of their own. Today, the arguments of early reformers are no longer unquestioningly embraced. Open space in urban areas is still considered to be important, but for different reasons from those offered by nineteenth century reformers. Today recognition of the importance of acquiring open space lies in the recreational opportunities and aesthetics ^August Heckscher, Open Spaces: The Life of American Cities (New York: Harper and Row, 1977), p. 165. 4%bid. open space can provide. People do not want to feel that they must leave their city to experience the amenities of open space. The city should be a place that is fit for human habitation, not a place from which one must escape in order to find a moment of peace. Indeed, open space provides a "psychological parking place within the civic landscape."^ Community leaders have "long been aware of a link between a city's amenities and the soundness of the other aspects of its life.Properly situated and developed, open spaces provide a sense of unity and pleasure for the community. They enhance the quality of urban life, and provide the city with a sense of vitality and community feeling. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, the need for open spaces that are accessible to the inhabitants of cities has been widely accepted. But this does not apply to large cities exclusively. Small cities, including Missoula, Montana, have demonstrated interest in obtaining and maintaining open space lands. Even though it is surrounded by vast acreages of relatively undeveloped land, Missoulians have expressed their support for the acquisition of open space. Paul Zucker, Town and Square From the Agora to the Village Green (New York; Columbia University Press, 1959), p . 1-2. ^Heckscher, p. 1. A municipality can acquire open space in many ways. Easements, zoning, and purchase (fee simple) are the principal methods. Each of these approaches may or may not be appropriate in a particular situation, depending upon the objectives to be reached and the circumstances surrounding the situation at hand. Of the three principal methods, zoning and certain kinds of easements can be used to acquire open space without the payment of funds to some group or individual. Funds for the purchase of lands and easements by a municipality can come from several sources; donations, state and federal loans and grants, special taxes, and the sale of municipal bonds. Purpose of This Paper In November of 1980, the voters of the City of Missoula approved a $500,000 conservation bond issue. The funds derived through the sale of the bonds have allowed Missoula to secure "open space land which, because of its aesthetic, scenic, recreational, historic, or ecological value, it is in the public interest to acquire."^ The sale of bonds for the purpose of acquiring open space lands is a unique approach in Montana, and is a unique approach for a city the size of Missoula in the states on Montana's Q borders. Considering its success in Missoula, this ^City of Missoula Ordinance No. 2183 (Open Space Ordinance); Missoula, Montana, 5 January 1981. O Interview with Dave Wilcox, Administrative Assistant, City of Missoula, Missoula, Montana, 2 May 1983 approach may hold great promise for other communities exploring alternatives for acquiring open space. This paper provides a case study of Missoula’s efforts to obtain open space land through the sale of conservation bonds. The paper's purpose is to show from Missoula's experience how money obtained through the sale of bonds can be used to obtain lands and easements. It will address; 1) Missoula's needs and objectives prior to choosing the bond approach, 2) options the decision makers had and why they chose the bond approach, 3) steps taken to get the bond passed, 4) strategies followed and steps taken to acquire open space after passage of the bond, and 5) problems or obstacles that arose which may be of interest to other communities. Such information should prove useful both for decision makers in Missoula seeking to decide what further steps need to be taken and for decision makers in other communities searching for options for acquiring open space lands. CHAPTER II ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR ACQUIRING OPEN SPACE This chapter provides a discussion of the methods and techniques available to communities wishing to acquire open space. The methods described include zoning, purchase (fee simple), transfer of development rights, and conservation easements. Zoning Local government can use its police power if it wishes to promote or protect the public health, safety, 9 morals, and general welfare. In the context of the protection of open space, this police power most often is manifest in zoning ordinances. At first glance, it may seem that zoning is a totally unreliable means by which open space objectives can be met. Richard Babcock states in The Zoning Game that: Stripped of all its planning jargon, zoning administration is exposed as a process under which isolated and political units engage in highly emotional altercations over the use of land, most of which are settled by a crude tribal adaptations of medieval trial 9 The Supreme Court of the U.S.