Missoula County is launching Phase I of a major update to the 2016 Missoula County Growth Policy to comply with the Montana Land Use Planning Act (MLUPA). The County seeks a planning firm with expertise in housing and economics to help draft a comprehensive housing needs analysis and economic development assessment, both adhering to MLUPA requirements. In addition to fulfilling MLUPA mandates, the consultant will provide deeper insights into housing affordability and industrial land needs, with a more extensive analysis than required by the Act. Missoula County staff will lead the overall project as well as combine the work from this project into a larger Existing Conditions and Trends document. Additional phases of the growth policy update are anticipated to begin in 2025 but not included in this RFP.

The primary deliverables for the consultant will be the chapters on Housing, Economic Development, Industrial Lands Assessment and the design layout and style guide for the rest of the chapters. The final report will be included in the Comprehensive Plan and submitted for adoption by the County Commissioners in subsequent phases of the project. Therefore, the contract with the consultant will focus on producing a high-quality fully formatted draft but will not include the adoption process for the report.

Missoula County staff will provide overall project management, directing work of county staff and coordinating with the consulting team. The selected firm will be responsible for project management of their tasks and coordinating with the firm's sub-consultants, as necessary. The consultant will host two in-person stakeholder meetings: one pertaining to housing and a second pertaining to economic development. The consultant is expected to identify stakeholders, develop materials, handle logistics and lead the meetings in coordination with county staff. In addition, the consultant will be tasked with engaging and interviewing stakeholders to identify issues, opportunities, and trends. Online engagement for Phase 1 activities will be provided by county staff using the County's existing engagement website.

The full RFP can be viewed here on the County's website.