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2/21/2025
“Missoula This Week” is reported and written By Katie Fairbanks. Send your Missoula news and tips to [email protected].
Most operating rentals now complying with regulations, city reports
Missoula’s push to address unregistered short-term rentals appears to be working, with the city recording a jump in licensed rentals over the last five months.
In March 2024, the City Council approved changes to its short-term rental regulations, including requiring a city registration number to be listed on hosting sites like Airbnb and Vrbo, which went into effect on Dec. 5, 2024.
The city issued 160 new licenses between September, when the new online application was available, and January, said Maggie McCarthy, permit and business licensing manager with the city’s Community Planning, Development and Innovation Department. The department issued 40 licenses earlier in 2024 and about 25 per year in 2022 and 2023, she said.
“We now can confidently say we’ve got really clear registration requirements and have sorted out what’s truly a dwelling unit and made the registration process easier overall,” McCarthy said. “I think these numbers are a testament to how this has gone. Our registrations have increased significantly.”
In October 2023, the city identified 587 short-term rentals, with 263 unregistered when they should have been. As of earlier this month, 335 short-term rentals were registered and 53 were under review, McCarthy said. That’s up from 114 registered and 19 in process as of December 2023. Rentals that are not a full dwelling unit, such as a room or rooms within an owner-occupied home, are not required to register.
Requiring hosting sites to validate a rental’s registration number should mean all rentals are now in compliance, but some have wrongfully claimed an exemption, McCarthy said. That includes rentals claiming to consist of just a room and not required to register, but the listing photos show otherwise, she said. Permitting staff members are reviewing those exemptions and working with the hosting sites and owners to bring them into compliance.
Along with the registration number, the council OK’d several changes to the application in an effort to streamline the process, McCarthy said. That included no longer waiting on Missoula Public Health to complete its state-required review before finalizing a rental’s city registration.
Last year, the health department received a record number of plan reviews for all types of businesses it inspects and had a number of staff vacancies, said Shannon Therriault, director of environmental health. Now back to full staff, the environmental health team is in a much better position than a year ago and committed to timely reviews, she said.
The department aims to respond to applicants within 30 days, Therriault said. The length of a review varies based on its complexity, how well the applicant filled out the review form and how quickly they respond to questions, she said.
The review ensures the location has potable water, adequate wastewater and garbage disposal, good laundry, chemical storage and pest control practices, adequate bathrooms, necessary food storage and cooking equipment and is generally in good repair, Therriault said.
The city also switched from requiring an onsite inspection from a building inspector to a self-inspection checklist. McCarthy said the change brought Missoula in line with other municipalities and allowed building and fire inspectors to focus on other work.
Some owners of previously unregistered rentals decided not to continue listing their homes or transitioned to a long-term rental because of the application fee, McCarthy said. The city charges $636 to register a new short-term rental or tourist home and $235 to renew a license.
“It could be said about all licensing and permitting that there are going to be people who balk at the fee,” McCarthy said. “It’s certainly something that is not cheap. It’s one of our higher registration fees, but it’s something the council wanted to ensure the broader community … was recovering the cost of reviewing these short-term rentals.”
McCarthy said it’s hard to know what the average number of applications will be going forward, but the department anticipates an influx as tourist season ramps up. The department intends to run an analysis this spring to get an updated count of short-term rentals to determine how effective the new registration process and rules have been in getting owners to comply, she said.
Those interested can search addresses in the city’s online portal to see if they are registered as a short-term rental, McCarthy said.
Looking for a career in construction?
Women interested in joining the construction industry can apply for the Women’s Workforce Montana program, a free two-month entry-level training. The main goal of the program is getting participants employed, said Nolee Anderson-Hendren, program specialist for Girls Representing In Trades (GRIT).
“It’s no surprise that historically women have been not exactly welcomed or pushed to pursue careers in construction industry jobs,” Anderson-Hendren said. “We like to focus on offering that opportunity to young girls and women. It’s a satisfying career, a lucrative career.”
Participants will learn how to use power tools, clean-energy-building skills, resume building and interview skills. The program will also include safety, strength and mobility training and information on how to navigate gender bias in a male-dominated industry. Participants will earn OSHA 10 and Job Site Ready certificates.
The program is put on by the Missoula Clean Energy Coalition, which includes Missoula County, the city of Missoula, Climate Smart Missoula, Missoula Economic Partnership, Mountain Home Montana, Missoula College and GRIT. The coalition members realized they needed to invest in workforce development to train more trades workers to implement the community’s climate goals, Anderson-Hendren said. Classes take place at the Missoula College of Industrial Technology with periodic job site visits.
The program lost federal funding it was set to receive through the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and organizers are looking for industry partnerships to help keep the program free for participants, Anderson-Hendren said.
Classes begin in May on alternating weekends and Thursdays and run through June. Childcare and transportation support is available. The program has space for 10 participants. Applications are due by April 1. More information and the application are available online.
Those interested in participating or learning more about the program can attend an informational session at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Home ReSource.
By the Numbers
The increase in spring enrollment reported by the University of Montana on Thursday. The bump follows a 5.6% increase in enrollment from fall 2023 to fall 2024, the largest year-over-year increase in 15 years.
UM recorded increases in undergraduate enrollment by 2.5%, graduate enrollment by 1% and Missoula College enrollment by 2.6% compared to last spring. A record number of high school students, 1,127, are taking classes at Missoula College this year. UM also reported increases in Native American students, veterans and first-generation students.
About 730 new students joined the university this spring, 10.2% more than last year. More than 900 students graduated in December.
5 Things to Know in Missoula
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for the region, including Missoula County, ahead of forecasted rain and warmer temperatures this weekend. High temperatures will reach into the 40s and overnight temperatures will stay above freezing, according to the forecast. Excessive runoff may result in the flooding of creeks, streams and other flood-prone locations, including urban areas. Residents can clear gutters and downspouts to improve drainage, remove snow from roofs, move snow away from foundations and window wells and avoid driving through standing water.
On Thursday, the Missoula County commissioners approved $90,000 in Community Parks and Recreation grants for four projects. The grants include: $29,470 for the Bonner Parent Teacher Association to replace old playground equipment at Bonner Elementary School; $20,000 to build a picnic pavilion at the Clinton Community Park; $15,000 for reseeding and interpretive signs at the Five Valley Trust’s Rock Creek Confluence property; $15,000 for initial work on a multi-year, $1.2 million project to create a new 28-mile trail system north of Seeley Lake; and $10,530 for a seasonal ice skating rink at Lolo West View Park.
Residents can review and comment on the city’s new Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails master plan during an open house on Wednesday. The event runs from 5 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the Cooper Room at the Missoula Public Library. Family-friendly activities and refreshments will be provided. Replacing a 2004 plan, the new document establishes the vision, goals and strategies to guide the department and considers climate change, resiliency, equity and housing.
The Missoula Organization of Realtors is presenting its annual Five Valleys Housing Report at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28, at the Missoula Public Library. A panel will discuss the 2024 housing market in the Missoula urban area and answer questions. Those interested can register to attend in person or virtually. Last year, the report found that Missoula’s housing prices hit a record high in 2023 and the median household income is about $30,000 lower than what is needed to purchase a median-priced home, the Missoulian reported.
Missoula Parks and Recreation is increasing prices for the Currents Aquatics Center and the Splash Montana water park on March 9. The increase includes daily admission, punch cards and annual passes. Families are encouraged to purchase passes or punch cards before the increase takes effect next month. Prices vary based on age and pass length. The Missoula City Council approved the fee increases in August as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Glad You Asked
In response to last week’s MTFP story on how two Missoula nonprofits that work with refugees are dealing with the Trump administration’s changes to immigration policy, a reader asked if the organizations directly or indirectly received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. In January, the administration froze all funding of USAID programs and issued a stop-work order. On Feb. 13, a federal judge ordered a temporary lift of the funding freeze.
Soft Landing Missoula received a small federal grant in the past, but it did not plan to receive any federal funding this year, said Mary Poole, executive director. The nonprofit is funded by donations from community members, she said.
The International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid organization that works in dozens of countries, receives a mix of public and private funding, including from the United States government. The organization had grants and contracts through USAID as of September 2023, according to the most recent financial statement available.
As of early February, the IRC was not receiving federal money from the U.S. State Department for refugee reception and placement programs but could still access funding from other departments, said Eamon Fahey, deputy director of the Missoula office. It’s unclear whether that included USAID money.
Comings and Goings
Imagine Nation Brewing is moving out of its location at 1151 W. Broadway at the end of March, according to a Facebook post. The taproom is preparing to expand its offerings at a new location, with details coming soon, the post said.
After briefly shutting its doors earlier this month, Acropolis Gyros reopened Tuesday under new owners. The South Avenue restaurant, which has been open for more than 40 years, was set to close at the end of January after owner Elizabeth Basolo couldn’t find a buyer, according to a Facebook post. Patrick and Heather Carls, who own several Five Guys burger restaurants across the region, reopened Acropolis after making some interior renovations. The menu will stay the same.
Might Be Fun
The Missoula Downtown Association is holding its Winter Brewfest from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Caras Park. The tap list includes more than 40 Montana-made craft beers, ciders and seltzers, along with a wine and mimosa bar. The festival will also feature local food trucks, burn barrels and music by DJ TRX. The event is free with tasting starting at $20 for four beer tokens and a 7-ounce commemorative glass. Additional tokens are two for $3. Limited edition 12-ounce mugs are $30 and come with four tokens. Other than service dogs, dogs are not allowed.