The city received 58 applications for its growth policy update steering committee.
The committee will include 14 people, 10 of whom will be selected from those applicants.
City Commissioners will make those appointments in the near future.
The city accepted applications from March 25 through April 12.
The committee is responsible for ensuring that a diverse group of individuals and organizations are represented throughout the growth policy process, according to the city planning office.
The committee will provide feedback and input at each stage of the planning process, including the development of the preliminary plan vision and goals, guiding principles, base concept development, strategies, element policies, priority actions, implementation strategies and recommendations, according to city planning.
They will also review ongoing drafts, objections and goals related to the growth policy.
City beginning growth policy update
The committee will serve as a communication channel for their respective areas of expertise or representative groups and will also assist with public engagement efforts, according to city planning.
City Commissioners unanimously approved a request for proposals and a resolution to formally start the growth policy during their Dec. 19, 2023 meeting.
The RFP opened on Dec. 22 and proposals were due by March 15.
City Planning Director Brock Cherry said that the city received six proposals.
The city’s selection committee plans to shortlist two or three candidates for interviews on April 5 and staff intends to recommend the selected consultant and contract to commissioners in early May, Cherry told The Electric.
City staff asking for RFP, resolution approval to start growth policy process
Commissioners also approved a resolution in December to formally start the growth policy process, which Cherry estimated will take about two years, including significant public outreach efforts.
Cherry started as the city’s planning director in August 2023.
Commissioners allocated $300,000 toward the growth policy in this year’s budget with the intent of hiring a consultant for the effort.
Staff has worked with city departments and external entities including the Great Falls Development Alliance, Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, Great Falls International Airport, Great Falls Public Schools, Home Builders Association of Great Falls, Great Falls Association of Realtors, Cascade County and others to develop the RFP, according to the staff report.
City starting growth policy update process
Cherry wrote in a memo to commissioners and the planning board that the process is a “significant and comprehensive undertaking” and that he intended to create a growth policy steering committee to help select the consultant and assist staff with public outreach.
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“Our goal is to create a growth policy that truly represents the interests and needs of the community. To achieve this, we plan to engage the public through surveys, listening sessions, informational booths, social media engagements, and most importantly, by educating them regarding the comprehensive outcomes that come with specific growth strategies and decisions,” Cherry wrote in his memo.
During the Oct. 17 work session, Cherry walked commissioners through what a growth policy is, is not and his planned timeline.
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“It’s not a wish list. If we treat it as a wish list, I think your constituents are going to be very disappointed,” Cherry told commissioners. “It’s not about you,” Cherry said of the plan needing to represent broad citizen perspective. “It’s the people’s plan.”
Apartment project for Dick’s RV Park is off
During the Dec. 19 meeting, Brett Doney, GFDA director, said that the community needs a realistic policy and the top concern at their agency is housing production.
He said that the community isn’t hitting the numbers recommended in their February 2022 housing market demand assessment.
GFDA commissioned the assessment, which was conducted by Concord Group and projected that there was demand for about 450 new housing units per year in Cascade County over the next decade.
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Based on the expected split between owners and renters, the assessment projected that it breaks down to a need for 190 new rental units and 250 new for sale/new ownership units per year over the next decade across income levels, according to the assessment.
GFDA commissioned an update to that assessment, the results of which were released on April 17.
[READ: The full housing market demand assessment]
Over the last few years, the city has approved multiple apartment building projects.
The planning board initially voted to deny the planned apartment complex for the former Dick’s RV Park property, but then reconsidered and recommended approval, but the developer pulled the project before it went to commissioners.
Both the city and county have approved multiple single family or townhouse style projects over the last two years.
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Construction has begun on some of those projects, but work has not yet begun on many.
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Doney told commissioners that the local economy is improving, but the area is losing affordability due to housing costs and availability.
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He said the community needs more infill development and more affordable housing options.
