To tap funding, city to place ‘open space’ designation on properties

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) Parks and trails around Missoula that serve as defacto open space may officially be designated as open space, enabling the city to direct funding from the Open Space Bond toward maintenance and capital improvements.

The Missoula City Council on Wednesday took the first step in placing the open-space designation on several properties, from small pocket parks within area subdivisions to the islands in the Clark Fork River.

“We're trying to be really comprehensive and strategic here to make sure those properties we know are open space are officially designated as open space on the record,” said Zac Covington, the city's Open Space Program manager. “This is being able to use the Open Space Bond funds per the resolution.”

The latest Open Space Bond adopted by voters sought to go further than simple property acquisition. It also included language enabling the city or county to direct funding from the bond to improve, maintain and restore areas designated as open space.

While Missoula has wide swaths of areas already designated as open space, it also has several dozen properties that serve as open space but lack the official designation.

“When this bond language was written, we talked a lot about the capital improvement piece,” said council member Amber Sherrill. “It's a good initiative, because we need maintenance and improvement of these areas.”

Covington said the resolution now before City Council strategically identifies properties within Missoula's parks and open-space system that must be designated as open space to qualify for funding from the bond.

Several projects on city property have already been approved for bond funding, including restoration and access to the Clark Fork River and improvements at Caras Park. Now, Covington said, they must be designated on the record as open space.

“Any time you expend Open Space Bond funds to protect open space, it automatically designates it as open space under state code” Covington said. “This resolution simply designates the properties on which capital improvements are being made as open space.”

City officials said the designation won't increase taxes, nor will it increase the value of homes that are close to a newly designated open space area.