Recent work by the American Planning Association’s professional institute’s Community Planning Assistance Teams program examined the case study provided by growth management challenges in and around the city of Helena, Montana.
"A volunteer planning assistance team from the American Planning Association has provided Lewis & Clark County and the City of Helena with nine recommendations for addressing the region’s growth and development activities," according to an American Planning Association press release announcing the study.
"The team’s recommendations are covered in their final report Helena Urban Standards Boundary Workshop: Engage, Facilitate & Plan [pdf]. The recommendations are connected to the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city and county on development issues, and the effort to develop standards for the area within the Urban Standards Boundary (USB)."
Recommendations focus on the potential of a collaborative planning process to align the growth strategies of the city and the country. The USB, which was designated by the city of Helena, provides a roadmap for annexation of county properties into the city. According to the report, however, the USB "[lacks] a plan to guide the annexation processes and development methods to promote a new pattern of compact development."
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