Sign up for the free Missoula This Week newsletter and stay in the loop on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming entertainment and events. Sign up 08/28/2026 Hello and happy Friday. It’s Katie with the latest edition of Missoula This Week.  In this issue, we dig into how the city is working to preserve existing affordable housing and make way for more. We also get an update on the next steps in Missoula County’s data center zoning plans and the money made at the Western Montana Fair.  But first, a weather preview ☀️  Another hot day Friday will kick off the weekend before clouds and rain blow in, according to the National Weather Service’s Missoula office. Rain is likely Saturday, with a chance of thunderstorms after noon. More rain overnight will bring a cooler day Sunday, with a high temperature near 70 degrees. Make sure to put on a jacket when heading out in the early mornings and nights, as temperatures are expected to drop into the 40s. Missoula officials tracking affordable housing, hope to keep supply growing A lot of Missoula’s affordable rental housing — and by affordable, I mean income- or rent-restricted — is owned or managed by nonprofits. But some of it isn’t, and that is cause for some concern as affordability restrictions that came with funding for those projects expire.  Take the Wildflower Apartments, for example. The 96-unit apartment complex on the south end of Missoula was built in 1993 with federal low-income housing tax credits for residents making 60% or less of the area’s median income. In 2017, the Missoula Housing Authority purchased the building when the previous owner put it up for sale to prevent it from flipping to market-rate rents.  “At the end of the day, it was not a good business decision for the agency, but it was a mission-driven effort,” Sam Oliver, the housing authority’s executive director, told me this week. A look inside the Missoula Housing Authority’s Wildflower Apartments. Credit: TiffanyWilliams Last year, the housing authority received a new round of tax credits for an extensive rehabilitation project at the Wildflower. As part of that $30 million project, the developers requested a new property tax exemption. The Missoula City Council held a public hearing Monday to solicit comment on whether the apartment complex meets a community housing need for that exemption request. The decision is ultimately up to the state.  Mike Bouchee, a developer working with United Housing Partners and the Missoula Housing Authority on the project, told the council the property tax exemption is a vital component of the project’s financing. The rehabilitation work will take about one-and-a-half years, as six units are repaired at a time to avoid displacing the property’s more than 200 residents, Bouchee said. All residents will be moved into a new unit at no cost to them, he said.  While few members of the public commented on the property’s merits, the council voiced support for the project.   “I’m always so grateful when affordable housing developers and the housing authority step up and into this role of taking on these jobs, because if it didn’t happen, we would basically be losing affordable housing in Missoula,” Council Member Gwen Jones said Monday. “That would be a shame, because we’re trying to go forward, not backward.”  Parker Webb, the city’s housing policy specialist, told me he built an internal database using information from state and federal agencies to keep an eye on properties’ “periods of affordability.” Tracking the status of the affordability restrictions and working proactively with partners to keep properties affordable is part of the city’s recently updated housing strategy, Webb said. But losing that status is not the city’s “highest worry around housing,” he said.  “Rehabbing these is a different conversation because a lot are old and need a little love,” Webb added. “But in terms of them flipping to market-rate, it’s not the biggest concern because the majority are owned by mission-aligned partners.” Oliver, the Missoula Housing Authority’s executive director, told me that the federal low-income housing tax credits are the primary way for nonprofits to expand their housing portfolios, but they are limited and competitive. That’s why he’s grateful local organizations communicate about their plans and often take turns applying for the tax credits.  “What it enables us to do is build to a standard that mirrors market rate,” Oliver said. “Affordable housing doesn’t have to be built to a lower standard; it can be built with durability and energy efficiency in mind because we want them to stay available and affordable long into the future. We have a strong commitment to maintaining and rehabbing our existing portfolio as a way any family can realize dignity and stability.”  Affordable housing projects, whether they use tax credits or other state or federal programs, are complex and require multiple funding sources that often come with restrictions or specifications. That’s why the city is now looking to tweak its newly adopted unified development code to make it easier for these types of projects to move forward.  On Wednesday, the Missoula City Council approved a resolution of intent directing city staff to develop incentives that allow qualifying projects to deviate from certain building standards to increase housing production. The city will also explore incentives to advance other community needs, such as larger units or homes with accessibility features.  “We are not talking about creating a broad-based incentives package,” said Eran Pehan, director of the city’s Community Planning, Development and Innovation Department. “This is a targeted attempt to look at some specific regulatory and building standards that we think can be tweaked to better support true deed-restricted affordable housing, especially low-income housing tax credit developments that have very specific financial structures and oftentimes development requirements in comparison to market-rate homes.”  City staff plan to present the proposal to the Missoula City Planning Commission in late fall or early winter and to the City Council in January.  Following Up ↩️ The Missoula County commissioners will consider a study required as part of the temporary moratorium on data centers in November.   The interim zoning proposal adopted on July 8 pauses the development of new or expanding data centers for up to a year while the county updates its regulations to mitigate potential impacts on public health, safety and natural resources. County staff started the study required to verify the emergency and determine the course of action to mitigate it the next day, Svein Newman, the county’s climate action program manager, told the commissioners Monday. Newman said the county staff intends to complete the study in the next eight weeks, leaving most of the time before the one-year mark to develop potential regulatory actions. The high-level study will assess potential impacts of data centers, including air and water quality, heat and noise, and will include some analysis of the state regulatory environment, he said.   Jennie Dixon, a county planner, said Monday that the draft study will be available for public review ahead of the November meetings, which will include time for public comment. The study will be updated with any new information brought from the public before it is finalized, she said. The county staff will then dive into drafting zoning changes or other options for the commissioners to consider, Dixon said.  The upcoming legislative session brings concerns that “as we draft this, the whole state landscape around this could change,” Dixon said. While the final adoption of updated zoning is planned for the day the interim expires, the commissioners can extend the interim zoning for another year if needed, she said.  “On the positive side, it feels like the national trend is like nobody, regardless of their political party, wants these things nearby them,” Commissioner Josh Slotnick said. “So coming up with really thoughtful ways to actually address the impacts would be well supported.”  The Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board is set to consider the study Wednesday, Nov. 4. The Missoula County commission will likely review it Nov. 12. On Campus 🐻 The University of Montana is hosting the first Montana AI Summit next week, exploring the impact of artificial intelligence in the state and its future. The free conference at the UM Ballroom will include facilitated conversations about AI’s effect on Montana jobs, industries and communities, as well as hands-on workshops.  “Montana’s industries are already being shaped by AI, and the people who understand Montana’s economy best are Montanans,” Zach Rossmiller, UM’s chief information officer and associate vice president for Information Technology, said in a press release. “Whether you’re a farmer in eastern Montana wondering what this means for your operation, a small business owner in Billings who’s already using these tools and wants to go further or a skeptic who isn’t convinced any of this applies to you yet, this summit is where that conversation happens.” The first day will focus on AI’s impact on Montana communities and businesses, with topics including data centers, AI fluency and workforce impacts. The second day will explore perspectives on AI in government and education. Day three will include hands-on workshops at the James E. Todd Building. The full schedule is available online. Public Notice 🧐  Missoula County is holding free wildfire-prepared homes workshops   🗓️ Monday, Aug. 31, and Wednesday, Sept. 2⏰ 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday📍 Seeley Lake Rural Fire Station, Monday; Missoula County Elections Center, Wednesdayℹ️ The Missoula County Wildfire Mitigation Program and the U.S. Forest Service are hosting workshops in Seeley Lake and Missoula to provide residents with information on how they can protect their homes from wildfires and plan for evacuation. Participants can schedule free risk assessments for their property at the workshop.   Missoula Public Health marking International Overdose Awareness Day  🗓️ Monday, Aug. 31 ⏰ 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. 📍 Missoula Public Library and Scheels Training Center; Silver Park pavilion ℹ️ Missoula Public Health is holding overdose prevention and response trainings to teach people to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose and how to administer reversal-medication naloxone. A remembrance event to honor loved ones and end the stigma surrounding substance use will be held Monday evening.  Final open house for Reserve Street Scott master plan   🗓️ Tuesday, Sept. 1⏰ 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.📍 Hilton Garden Inn, 3720 N. Reserve St.ℹ️ Residents can review updated elements of the master plan for the North Reserve-Scott Street Urban Renewal District, including zoning, street connectivity, parks and open spaces and project implementation. After incorporating feedback, the plan will be available for comment online in October before it is presented to elected officials.  🔗 A virtual workshop survey will be available online beginning Tuesday.  Neptune Aviation Services is hosting “Girls in Aviation Day”  🗓️ Saturday, Sept. 19⏰ 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 📍 Neptune Aviation Services, 4301 Corporate Way ℹ️ The free event will introduce girls ages 8 to 17 to career opportunities in aviation and will include interactive stations, hands-on activities and panel discussions featuring women with careers in aviation and aerial firefighting. Lunch will be provided. The event also includes a paper airplane contest, and the winner will receive a voucher for a scenic flight over Missoula, courtesy of Northstar Jet Flight School. 🔗 Those interested must RSVP by Sept. 7 on this registration page.  By the Numbers 🔢 The estimated attendance at the Western Montana Fair at the Missoula County Fairgrounds this year, despite smoke and heat, Billie Brown, the fairgrounds’ events and operations manager, told the Missoula County commissioners Monday.  This was the first year the fair ran for eight days, and two weekends, up from six days. Attendance was up about 5% from last year, which is not a proportional increase given the addition of two days, Brown said. But attendance is expected to continue to increase, and the fairgrounds hopes to reach its goal of 150,000 visitors over the next two years, she told MTFP.  The fair’s 4-H livestock sale netted a record-breaking $944,650, up almost $115,000 from last year, Brown said. Food vendor sales also hit a record of more than $1 million. The event is a great opportunity for the nonprofits that run many of the food stands, Brown said. Alcohol sales were down about $18,000, and carnival sales dropped about 4.6% to $877,370. Brown said the carnival operator told her other locations saw a 15% drop in sales. The decrease in Missoula could have been due to the smoke and heat, competition with other events or a drop in consumer confidence after a Butte teen died after being injured on a carnival ride in June.  Local Lineup 🚶 ☘️ The Fáilte Montana Irish Festival returns to Caras Park Friday. The free cultural celebration is held by the Friends of Irish Studies in the West, which also helps fund the University of Montana’s Irish Studies program. The festival runs from 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and includes live music, traditional dance performances, hurling demonstrations and local food vendors.  🎶 To keep the fun going Saturday, head up to Marshall Mountain for Marshall Fest, a Girls on Shred fundraiser for a rail garden at the park. The rail garden will feature ramps and rails for skiers and snowboarders of all levels and will be free and open to the public. The fundraiser festival from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. features music from local bands and DJs, a raffle and games. Beer and cider will be for sale, BYO picnic and yard blanket. The post How the city is working to keep affordable housing appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less