This page features an artist's rendering of Paradise Valley today, tomorrow, and an alternative version of tomorrow. Below is a picture of Mill Creek today.
Paradise Valley Today
Paradise Valley Today

          Attributes today:

  • Abundant open space

  • Working farms and ranches

  • Valley population principally clustered in and near small towns

  • Variety of income levels residing in the valley

  • Minimal river corridor development

  • High quality of rural life

  • Healthy fish and wildlife habitat

  • Commercial activity is largely limited to town centers

  • Tax revenue is already insufficient for services and infrastructure required
  This is an illustration of the Mill Creek area of Paradise Valley as it appears today based on a recent photo (above). The area is well known to residents of the region and is visible from Highway 89 on the way to and from the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. The area is typical of Paradise Valley, with picturesque farms and ranches, relatively uncluttered riverfronts, and a continuous backdrop of majestic and often snowcapped mountains draped in verdant forests. The nearby town of Emigrant acts as a hub for the surrounding rural population. It provides a collection of basic services and is an established community center for many residents. The historic pattern of concentrated development in the vicinity of Emigrant has helped to maintain traditional agricultural practices and preserve open space and a quality of life that is so attractive and appreciated by residents and visitors. However, this historic pattern is rapidly being replaced by a new pattern of low density sprawl as new residential subdivisions are replacing farms and ranches.
Paradise Valley Tomorrow: Conventional Growth

          Impacts:

  • Open space is limited to large lot yards and public lands

  • Farms and ranches have been replaced by subdivisions

  • Population is spread across the valley in a low-density sprawl
  • River corridor is highly developed
  • Suburban character has replaced rural character
  • Low and middle income homes no longer available in the valley

  • Fish and wildlife habitat is greatly reduced

  • Highway 89 is a continuous commercial strip

  • Water quality is threatened by density of septic systems

  • Tax revenue is inadequate for services and infrastructure required
  This is an illustration of the Mill Creek area of Paradise Valley in the not too distant future if current trends continue. The conceptual drawing depicts the typical random sprawl development that results from a lack of planning. Presently, Park County does not have an overall plan for how growth should occur. The County does have a Comprehensive Plan in place, but the plan is vague and lacks an implementation strategy. Though the plan is consistent in its expression of the desires of the residents to maintain the traditional agricultural character of Park County, it does not make this priority a mandate. It is not possible, in the scenario depicted in this illustration, to maintain viable agricultural operations. There is an abrupt change from the undeveloped National Forest lands to highly subdivided residential development. This leaves no connection or link from the forest to the river for wildlife. Roads traverse the once open lands, contributing to such environmental impacts as dust, noxious weeds, sedimentation, and additional hazards to wildlife. The extensive road networks require enormous public funds for their maintenance.
Paradise Valley Tomorrow: An Alternative to Sprawl
 This illustration depicts an alternative vision of the future of the Mill Creek area of Paradise Valley. The drawing illustrates the results of growth strategies that would protect the current agricultural and rural character of Paradise Valley following the stated goals of the current Comprehensive Plan. To achieve these goals, however, significant steps have to be taken immediately. This scenario does not assume that no development or accommodation for growth will be allowed, but it redirects that growth in different ways. Rather than allowing the growth to spread evenly across the valley, development would be encouraged around the existing towns of Livingston, Gardiner and Emigrant, while development would be discouraged in viable agricultural lands, riverfronts and wildlife habitat. When rural development does occur, homes are clustered and open space is linked together to protect view sheds and to retain parcels large enough for viable agriculture. Infrastructure costs are reduced through clustering by significantly reducing the length of new roads that must be built and maintained to access the homes. To ensure that the valley does not simply become an exclusive enclave for the wealthy, the new clustered developments should be encouraged to include a variety of lot sizes, minimum home size covenants should be actively discouraged, and the existing variety of house types should be allowed to continue. The means of achieving such a vision require careful planning and the use of a combination of incentives, disincentives, and regulatory approaches. Such approaches have been proven in other rural areas around the country to provide effective planning for the future without being detrimental to local landowners, and in fact, have increased land value. These strategies are outlined at the end of this document.

          Attributes:

  • Housing is clustered to protect open space, viewsheds, wildlife corridors, and agriculture

  • Commercial activity is clustered at major intersections and near population centers
  • Open space is abundant
  • Farms and ranches remain viable
  • Mixed-income housing is maintained
  • River corridor is protected

  • Rural character is maintained
  • Fish and wildlife habitat is protected
  • Water quality remains high
  • Infrastructure and roadway costs are greatly reduced through clustering
Park County Environmental Council
P.O. Box 164
Livingston, MT 59047
406-222-0723
866-829-2059 (toll free)

©2001 Park County Environmental Council

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