Rattlesnake property owner seeks zoning change to allow ADU

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) A property owner in the Lower Rattlesnake neighborhood has applied to withdraw from an isolated overlay placed upon the parcel in 2004 in hopes of building an ADU on the site.

Located at 1114 Poplar Street, the parcel is currently zoned as the Blossoms Bed and Breakfast planned unit overlay, which was established 20 years ago. As such, the bed and breakfast currently serves as a conditional use, which restricts any changes to the property.

But removing the overlay would deem the bed and breakfast a “lawfully established conditional use,” allowing for further development of the parcel, which spans 15,000 square feet.

City planner Alex Bramlette said the request meets the required criteria.

“This rezone conserves the value of buildings and encourages the most appropriate use of the land, because it would allow for the continued use of this site and potential development as envisioned by the growth policy and the Rattlesnake Valley Comprehensive Plan,” she said.

The comprehensive plan was adopted in 1995 as an attachment to the city's growth policy. Bramlette said it encourages the highest density of residential development in the southern portion of the Rattlesnake Valley.

It also looks to create a diversity of housing types, address the housing shortage for low- and moderate-income households, and protect private property rights.

Troy Savage, the property's owner, said he's eager to get past the review.

“It's been a long process,” he said. “We got that overlay done after a fire here and we wanted to restore the property, so we did a bed and breakfast for 15 years to do that. The bed and breakfast was a great experience, but now my wife and I want to build a garage with an apartment above it and let our family take the house.”