A look at master planning and its role in Lincoln's future

Envision Lincoln and the Lincoln Valley Chamber of Commerce have been working with Lewis and Clark County and the Montana Business Assistance Connection to develop a comprehensive master plan for Lincoln.

Earlier this month, Lewis and Clark County approved a request for proposals for development of a comprehensive master plan. The RFP will go out for bid to professional consultants who have experience in master planning for rural communities like Lincoln.

But just what is a master plan?

By one definition, a master plan is "a guiding policy document that contains the vision for the future of a town that establishes the framework, strategies, and priorities for achieving the vision, based on a comprehensive analysis of the existing conditions, broad community and stakeholder engagement and feedback."

Well. That certainly clears it up. If you're really into buzzwords.

To put it more simply, a master plan is a plan for the revitalization, economic development, growth and improvements in town, and a guide to manage changes in ways that most of the people in town are on board with.

That may sound a lot like the goals laid out for Envision Lincoln when it was developed in 2015, and with good reason. Envision Lincoln was designed as a foundation for building Lincoln's future, so the goals remain basically the same. The master plan will get into the details of how to achieve them.

While many may see words like 'revitalization' and 'development' as synonymous with undesirable or unwanted growth and change, Brian Obert, MBAC's executive director, explained that's not necessarily the case.

Obert, who has had experience with master planning in other communities, mentioned a conversation the had recently with long-time property owner in the Lincoln area, who was concerned that a master plan would change the town.

"Tell me," he said to the person, "what is it you don't want to change?"

His point was that the community needs to identify the qualities it wants to retain, in order to make a plan to keep them. Another way of looking at it is, without some sort of plan to manage change - which is inevitable - things will probably change in ways people won't like.

That's where a master plan comes in.

"Just acknowledge ...Lincoln will change some, but Lincoln is always going to be Lincoln, so let's help people understand what that is."

Although some communities he's worked with have opted not to have the conversation about the future, he said it does feel like Lincoln wants to have that conversation right now.

The Master Plan RFP provides a look at what Lincoln's conversations will focus on.

To begin with, community involvement and public participation is key. The goal is to get as much of the community involved in the planning process as possible, including efforts to reach out to people who may not normally get involved in such things.

The master plan will also analyze land use, with an eye toward redevelopment, new business opportunities and future growth.

Strategies for marketing and promoting the community will be part of the discussion and ensuing plan, with a goal of developing tourism and sustainable growth.

Likewise, planning will delve into different ways to leverage Lincoln's art, culture, recreation and trails resources to help the community reach its goals.

Probably the most visible part of the master plan, and potentially the most divisive, will involve downtown infrastructure.

Although Envision Lincoln has focused recently on in-town trails, the question remains about how to make downtown more attractive to visitors and how to make it more appealing for them to walk around town, which increases the chances they will spend more time and money in downtown businesses.

With increased traffic along Highway 200, coupled with more OHV , bicycle and motorcycle activity, the master plan will include an emphasis on safe downtown walkability, which is seen as a main key to making Lincoln more inviting to visitors. It will also look at streetscaping and overall community design and aesthetics.

What that all will look like remains to be seen, but renderings of a potential downtown design already sparked debate following their publication in the BVD in early 2020. Intended as a look at possibilities rather than a final design, they drew mixed reactions. While master planning will include more renderings, those will be developed through community input.

Obert noted that one of the issues Lincoln faces is that there is no clearly defined vision for Lincoln's identity. He said he's heard a lot of differences in what people in Lincoln want.

While there are people who don't want to see the town change, their perception of Lincoln doesn't exist in a vacuum. As Obert pointed out, some people's perceptions revolve around having a beer and a good steak at their favorite establishment when they're here. But for that perception to remain reality, the community and its various businesses need to remain open year round; not just specific businesses, at specific times.

"As an economic developer who covers Lewis and Clark County, I'd really like to know what you guys want Lincoln to look like, what do you want it to be? What are your concerns?" Obert said. "Instead of just a public hearing and that sort of thing, this is where we can bring a consultant who can then put drawings and documents together that identifies that."

A community driven master plan could also help residents overcome a belief that, as an unincorporated community, Lincoln is at the mercy of the whims of Lewis and Clark County, the state or, in the broader landscape, the Forest Service.

Obert explained that development of a comprehensive master plan helps government entities like the county commission and Montana Department of Transportation, or non-profit organizations like MBAC that can assist Lincoln, know the town's priorities. "We don't want to make decisions that we think are what you want, without knowing what you want."

He said having people generally in agreement about what they want downtown to look like is important. The chances of implementing improvements in the short term may not be high, but sometimes things line up right. He explained that White Sulphur Springs faced a similar need to improve their downtown, and having a plan in place ultimately paid off.

"MDOT wasn't interested until they knew really clearly what White Sulphur wanted and they said 'Oh, yeah, we can do that.'"

Beyond discussions of the potential for sidewalks on Main Street, or planning for future growth or market analysis related to Lincoln's growing reputation as an art and recreation destination, Obert said master planning discussions can delve into a wide variety of topics. Some of them, such as housing density in town or what new housing for younger workers could look like, may find a place in the final document. Others, such as whether the school could play a role in workforce development, probably won't. But he said there's value in it nevertheless. "You're gonna see a whole bunch of weird things come out of the planning process. We can get off task, but sometimes that 'off task' provides good nuggets that organizations or others can jump on."

The master planning process is expected to get underway sometime in October. Firms interested in developing a masterplan for Lincoln have until July 30 to submit their proposals. A firm is then slated to be chosen within 60 days.