Viewpoint: Why we live in the Swan Valley
Jon Simon and Helene Michael
After two years of effort, the Planning Committee of the Swan Valley Community Council will formally submit a draft Neighborhood Plan, including an Existing Conditions Report and proposed Future Land Use Map, to our Community Council. These documents, if accepted by our council and forwarded to Missoula County, meet the requirements for our commissioners to consider the 2025 materials as an update to the current Neighborhood Plan, approved in 1996.
The current guidance to the Commissioners from Condon of what we want for our unincorporated township is almost 30 years old. The 1996 approved plan predates the Montana Legacy Project, which transformed both our landscape and accelerated the changes in the timber industry as Plum Creek became more of a real estate company than a forest-products producer. It also predates the COVID pandemic and the explosion of real-estate land values. It predates Montana “being rediscovered” as the Last Best Place and the tremendous development pressures on our area as we experienced with POWDR’s attempt to transform Holland Lake Lodge into a destination luxury resort.
The Planning Committee started with a review of the 1996 Neighborhood Plan. We found that the 1996 report was well done and expressed a set of core values and recommendations that are relevant today. In 1996, people in Condon wanted to live in a peaceful and quiet rural community with low population density. Residents also said they enjoyed access to the natural environment and public lands, the presence of elk and deer and other forest animals, a fire-resilient and healthy forest, and clean air and clean water.
In our 2024 community questionnaire, we asked about desired “values.” The consistency with the 1996 Plan was extraordinary. The 2025 Neighborhood Plan stays close to the good ideas of the approved 1996 Plan. For the many neighbors who said clearly, “Don’t change things,” the 2025 Neighborhood Plan is responsive to your concerns.
The 2025 Neighborhood Plan is based on three core values:
- Preserve the “rural character” of the Swan Valley defined as low-density housing and open spaces, favoring small family-run businesses, and maintaining strong community volunteerism.
- Protect our clean air and water and maintain a resilient forest with abundant wildlife.
- Ensure accessibility to our public lands for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, and riding.
The 2025 Plan differs from the 1996 Plan in an important way. One criticism we heard of the 1996 Plan was that “it was full of good ideas, but Missoula County didn’t do what we asked for.” There’s some truth to that. But the fact is the 1996 Plan lacked enforcement mechanisms.
The 2025 Planning Committee, after months of discussions and extensive public input, decided to address the issue head-on by recommending that the County Commissioners consider limited commercial and density zoning. Based on the consistent preferences from 1996 to now, we suggest preference be given to small family-run businesses over large corporate entities and to codify in law the land-use categories approved in the 1996 Plan.
Importantly, the 2025 Plan, consistent with State law and County regulations, “grandfathers in” all existing parcels. If zoning is instituted, it will only affect future sales and new developments. It will not affect existing property owners’ ability to do “family splits,” build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), or build outbuildings (sheds, greenhouses, garages, etc.).
In the next 10 years, given the development pressures we see around us in Seeley Lake, Lakeside, and Helmville, if we want the Swan Valley to maintain its rural character and enjoy clean water and abundant wildlife, we'll need an enforcement mechanism (zoning regulations) to protect and conserve our beautiful valley. Doing nothing doesn’t mean nothing will change. Pressures on the Swan Valley are too strong to trust that we can manage change rather than have our beautiful place be changed by external forces out of our financial or political control.
We hope you'll join us at the Community Council on October 21 in recommending we ask our Community Commissioners to have the vision and courage to work with county officials to keep the Swan Valley as a treasure for our children and grandchildren to enjoy and what we’re blessed to experience every day.
Jon Simon and Helene Michael are co-chairs of the Swan Valley Planning Committee in Condon.