Madison County Planning Department recognized with Achievement in Planning Award

The Madison County Planning Department was awarded the Achievement in Planning award by the Montana Association of Planners (MAP) for their work creating a data driven resource map of sensitive areas in the county. The award is given for completed work that is innovative, data-driven, collaborative and transferable according to a release from MAP. 

The aim of the sensitive areas mapping project was to move the county from subjective, opinion based land use decisions toward resource based planning that uses objective data according to Madison County Planning Director Cody Marxer. 

“We’re always looking at long-range planning and land use, our community is at this point polarized on their position on how land use should function,” said Marxer. “One end is extreme pro private property rights. ‘Don't tread on me. Don't tell me what to do.’ The other end comes from areas and communities in other states where you need a permit to breathe. I'm constantly trying to reevaluate our regulations that we do have, which are minimal, and find ways to bring those two ends closer together, but also take the subjectivity out of any land use in our county.”

The project mapped water usage, wildlife issues, wildland-urban interface, wildfire risk, noxious weed infestations and development pressures along with other data. The intention is to give the county a data rich tool to use in making decisions regarding subdivision and to also give developers and the public access to the information for their planning processes.  

“I thought there might be a way through this mapping and this report to get that accessible to those types of people, to those of us that live here,” she explained. “I had this grand idea that at some point our county should move to an online web platform similar to Cadastral, where I can pull up my own property and click on it, and it will tell me all the things about my property. It will reference every deed, every covenant, every just a one-stop shop for all information about each parcel. So I thought this mapping might be a good first step.”

The idea was spawned from Marxer’s work on a similar project in Gallatin County, but this is the first time that the idea has been implemented in Montana on a county wide scope. She sees it as a way to stay ahead of the growth that has been prevalent in the community.

“I think if we have a chance to be super proactive here, we're not behind the curve. It feels like we are because it feels like everyone's moving in, but we're not,” said Marxer. “We’re getting some good stuff together that's not subjective, it's data-based. I think we can steer some things in some really good directions that make sense for those of us living here.”

Since the award was given, Marxer says there has been interest in similar projects from other parts of the state. 

“When they gave us the award, they said that there have been a handful of other counties already reached out about doing something similar,” said Marxer.  “They liked the idea of getting information out in a way that's a little more digestible and informative, before you just throw regulations on people when you're required to.”

You can learn more and access the report at https://madisoncountymt.gov/718/Planning-Department-News-and-Updates.