Community Planning

Livingston and Park County are changing.

Housing prices have almost doubled in the past five years. The city is projecting thousands of new residents in the next decade. The county has had more houses constructed over the past four decades than people added.

Our neighbors in Bozeman live in the fastest growing micropolitan community in the United States, and it’s likely that growth will spill over.

At PCEC, we don’t have all the answers, but we know one thing: The community, not developers, should decide how Livingston and Park County grow. That’s why we have led the push for an updated growth policy for the city, which has not been substantially changed since 2004.

Making smart decisions that reflect the community’s desires means local governments need to operate with updated documents that reflect the community’s desires and use those documents to help accomplish community goals.

We admire the way the county has already taken steps to implement the public’s input received in the growth policy by establishing zoning for billboards in Paradise Valley and creating a draft decay ordinance.

With new growth expected, residents should weigh in on what they want the community to be.