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Record of Proceedings

Belgrade City Council Workshop on MLUPA and Land Use Plan - April 13, 2026

City Council & Boards — Monday, April 13, 2026
BodyBelgrade, Montana
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateMonday, April 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Alright, I'd like to thank everybody for coming out tonight for Belgrade City Council workshop here on April 13th.

0:12

If you would please rise and follow me in the pledge.

0:18

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:26

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all roll call, please.

0:38

Jason Guppy.

0:40

Here Matthew McGee?

0:42

Here.

0:42

Jim Simon?

0:43

Here.

0:44

Michael Meese?

0:45

Here.

0:45

Christina Kuchi?

0:47

Here.

0:47

Aaron Bell?

0:48

Here.

0:48

Renee Manimo?

0:50

Here.

0:50

Thank you.

0:53

Yeah, around the 13th.

0:56

Alright.

0:58

So on our discussion agenda, first up is uh discuss the Malupa process, City of Belgrade land use plan for future land use map and the proposed subdivision regulations compliant with Malupa.

1:12

So Mr.

1:13

Stein, do you want to kick us off there?

1:17

Good evening, Mayor, Council.

1:19

Brad Stein, senior planner.

1:20

Yep, that's right.

1:21

So tonight we'll be presenting by we, I mean our consultant Charles Trawell will be presenting.

1:27

I will be backing him up.

1:28

If you have any questions, please let me know.

1:31

And I'm gonna just go ahead and let you take it away.

1:33

Um, and there should be a little bit of background and everything in this.

1:37

So I guess I'll expand a little bit more.

1:40

Uh it'll be going over the process itself and how we got here, and then a little bit about the subdivision regulations and why and how we're doing that.

1:49

So now you think it's a great primary.

1:59

Good afternoon, everyone.

2:01

Okay, I can lean into the mic.

2:02

Hopefully, I can be heard all right.

2:04

Um good afternoon, everyone.

2:06

Thanks for uh thanks for being here tonight.

2:09

Uh as Brad mentioned, uh, we're gonna go over uh the steps of the MLUPA process for the clearly Belgrade land use plan.

2:17

Um I have three big segments.

2:20

I'll have some pauses for questions in between because it's worth pausing at significant moments.

2:25

So um I'll definitely make sure I acknowledge that.

2:28

But at any point you guys do have questions, feel free to flag me down and I'll do my best to answer or um not I can uh tag Brad in if I need to.

2:37

So with that, we'll get started.

2:44

There you go.

2:45

Okay.

2:46

Um brief introduction.

2:48

So high level we'll go through the MLUPA process.

2:50

We'll talk about MLUPA at a high level, the concept behind it, the intention for streamlining streamlining lining, land use plan, and land use regulatory documents.

3:01

We'll walk through through those steps to the land use map.

3:05

We'll talk about zoning compliance, and then we'll go to subdivision, and then those spaces in between are the areas for pause, and then we'll we'll end up with a few questions.

3:14

Uh we'll leave some time to the end for questions.

3:16

So to start from the very beginning, I want to talk about the clearly Belgrade Master Planning because this structure really preceded the Montana Land Use Planning Act.

3:25

So if we take this all the way back to the foundation, um there was a SWOT analysis done in 2022, and one of the biggest outcomes from that was the goal to really benchmark where Belgrade is from a regulatory standpoint.

3:40

The growth that had been experienced not only in Belgrade but in the county across the state has been uh astounding.

3:48

Umjections in 2017 to 2022 that um had Belgrade getting to a population around um 11,800 by 25.

4:02

Belgrade got there somewhere in between 2022, 2023.

4:08

Um, and this pace has just remained since then.

4:11

So the concept uh that was really laid out in that uh SWOT analysis was having an overall massive planning effort that touched infrastructure, transportation, land use, parks, trails, recreation, and also included a web development uh platform component that really tied all these together in a way that elevates all of the regulatory documents for the city of Belgrade into a first of its kind interactive sort of model that really set the stage for planning for the next 20, 30 years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Urban Renewal████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%
Land Use Planning████████████12%
Affordable Housing██████████10%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Economic Development███3%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Belgrade City Council Workshop on MLUPA and Land Use Plan - April 13, 2026

The Belgrade City Council held a workshop on April 13, 2026, to discuss the Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA) process, the City of Belgrade Land Use Plan, the future land use map, and proposed subdivision regulations. The meeting was informational, with no formal votes taken. Presenters and staff detailed the multi-year planning effort and next steps toward compliance.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Riley McDonald (Firm 5, 11 East Main) commented that the new subdivision regulations focus on subdivisions rather than individual home builds, and suggested making that distinction clear to the public to avoid concern about loss of input on neighboring lot development.
  • Caitlin Coontz (partner, Firm Five) expressed dissatisfaction with public notification regarding the MDT roundabout project on Main Street, stating that downtown businesses were unaware of the plans until recently. She noted contradictions between the roundabout design (increasing traffic speed) and the land use goals of a safe, walkable downtown, and urged better community outreach.

Discussion Items

  • MLUPA Overview and Belgrade’s Planning History: Charles Trawell (consultant) and Brad Stein (senior planner) presented the background. A SWOT analysis in 2022 spurred the "Clearly Belgrade Master Planning" effort, which has since been aligned with MLUPA requirements. Belgrade’s population grew three times faster from 2015–2020 than from 2005–2015, reaching approximately 11,800 earlier than projected. The state’s population has grown 71% since 2000.
  • Land Use Plan and Future Land Use Map: The plan includes population projections (medium projection of ~23,000 by 2045, requiring about 4,300 housing units), goals for housing, economy, mobility, recreation, and infrastructure. A future land use map was updated with new “community” and “downtown” classifications. The map shows a transect from urban to rural uses across the planning jurisdiction.
  • Housing Strategies and Zoning Compliance: Belgrade already meets 6 of 14 required housing strategies (e.g., permitting duplexes, accessory dwelling units, reduced parking minimums, increased height limits). Approximately 37% of the city’s zoned area currently complies with these strategies. The zoning ordinance was found to be well-prepared for MLUPA.
  • Subdivision Regulations: The new regulations streamline the process: an administrative planning administrator can approve subdivisions that align with the land use plan and zoning, bypassing planning commission unless an appeal is filed. The major/minor subdivision distinction is replaced with a single process and eight exemptions. Appeal steps: planning administrator → planning commission → city council → district court (30 days per step).
  • Upcoming Projects: The MDT roundabout project on Main Street was discussed. City Manager Cardwell noted the project is state-led, with public workshops on April 15 (11:30 a.m. lunch) and April 22 (4–7 p.m. open house). The roundabout is necessary to improve pedestrian safety and is a prerequisite for the larger Belgrade Urban Project (Jackrabbit underpass).

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken; the workshop was for information and discussion.
  • Next Steps: The planning commission will review and recommend the land use plan and subdivision regulations on April 27. City council adoption is scheduled for May 4.
  • Council members were encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback before adoption.
  • Public events: April 15 – inside Belgrade Economic Development Series lunch (roundabout discussion); April 22 – MDT open house on roundabout (4–7 p.m.); also Arbor Day celebration on April 22 (10 a.m.–noon).
  • The city-county planning board will be dissolved by July 1, 2026, coinciding with MLUPA adoption.

Meeting Transcript

Alright, I'd like to thank everybody for coming out tonight for Belgrade City Council workshop here on April 13th. If you would please rise and follow me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all roll call, please. Jason Guppy. Here Matthew McGee? Here. Jim Simon? Here. Michael Meese? Here. Christina Kuchi? Here. Aaron Bell? Here. Renee Manimo? Here. Thank you. Yeah, around the 13th. Alright. So on our discussion agenda, first up is uh discuss the Malupa process, City of Belgrade land use plan for future land use map and the proposed subdivision regulations compliant with Malupa. So Mr. Stein, do you want to kick us off there? Good evening, Mayor, Council. Brad Stein, senior planner. Yep, that's right. So tonight we'll be presenting by we, I mean our consultant Charles Trawell will be presenting. I will be backing him up. If you have any questions, please let me know. And I'm gonna just go ahead and let you take it away. Um, and there should be a little bit of background and everything in this. So I guess I'll expand a little bit more. Uh it'll be going over the process itself and how we got here, and then a little bit about the subdivision regulations and why and how we're doing that. So now you think it's a great primary. Good afternoon, everyone. Okay, I can lean into the mic. Hopefully, I can be heard all right. Um good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for uh thanks for being here tonight. Uh as Brad mentioned, uh, we're gonna go over uh the steps of the MLUPA process for the clearly Belgrade land use plan. Um I have three big segments. I'll have some pauses for questions in between because it's worth pausing at significant moments. So um I'll definitely make sure I acknowledge that. But at any point you guys do have questions, feel free to flag me down and I'll do my best to answer or um not I can uh tag Brad in if I need to. So with that, we'll get started. There you go. Okay. Um brief introduction. So high level we'll go through the MLUPA process. We'll talk about MLUPA at a high level, the concept behind it, the intention for streamlining streamlining lining, land use plan, and land use regulatory documents.

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