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What’s Happening
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As a result we are seeing expensive high rise apartments and condos invading Bozeman’s existing neighborhoods resulting in significantly increased traffic, destruction of existing affordable housing, and the permanent alteration of neighborhood character. Exploding property values are raising taxes, and displacing long time residents, while making it impossible for the next generation to live here.
Bozeman is experiencing unprecedented growth resulting in a high demand for all types of new housing. Developers have flocked to Bozeman to meet that demand but with a focus on their own profits over the needs of the local community.
We are seeing historic homes, once protected by strictly enforced Neighborhood Conservation Overlay design regulations, being torn down and replaced by million dollar plus duplexes. We lose affordability and our history at the same time.
We are seeing hand crafted homes demolished and put in the landfill to make room for housing-as-investment, or dwarfed by large new apartment buildings just beyond their backyard resulting in a loss of privacy and quality of life.
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The Proposed New Unified Development Code
Adhering to the developer and investor led narrative, that more housing will bring down prices, our City Commission and staff drafted a new Unified Development Code (UDC) using the services of Austin TX based, Code Studio. After limited resident input, the City presented their new draft code in August of 2023. It was received with such intense backlash that the City paused the code update. However, this pause is now over and the UDC is back on the table.
Residents saw the new UDC as a gift to developers who would profit from the redevelopment of our central and historic neighborhoods ushering in massive displacement, gentrification, and the destruction of our sense of place, with no guarantee of affordability whatsoever.
The Better Bozeman Coalition formed as a citizen advocacy group to lobby for changes to the proposed UDC that will make it more neighborhood friendly. We DO need a new UDC! The current code is allowing for the destruction of what the American Planning Association calls NOAH, or Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing. We’re losing the historic character of our core neighborhoods, and our urban forest is experiencing death-by-a-thousand-cuts. So this is an important opportunity to change the direction of Bozeman’s growth strategy.
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Better Mass and Scale Protections
The new draft regulations don’t sufficiently balance the need for growth and development with the preservation of the existing built environment. In fact the proposed code incentivizes the demolition of older homes for redevelopment into luxury condos. Zoning codes establish height restrictions, setbacks, and floor area ratios to control the size and bulk of buildings in relationship to the height and size of existing buildings. They take into account factors such as sunlight, privacy, and views. This can include provisions for green space, which enhances the overall livability and environmental quality of a neighborhood. The zoning code should use front elevation drawings instead of isometric ones, which are visually deceiving. Our currently allowed height limits are quite generous, maybe too generous.
These photos of the corner of W. Alderson and S. 8th Avenue provide an example of how the tear down and redevelopment of existing affordable housing can result in a building that not only has a mass and scale significantly larger than the other houses in the neighborhood, the new units are unaffordable to our existing residents. Since they’ve been finished and painted white, one observer called them, “luxury milk cartons”.
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McMasion Ban Based On Strict Floor Area Ratio Regulations
It’s happening all over town, and in other cities. Workers tear down a charming old bungalow with a garden and build a massive, multi-million dollar mansion. Some cities such as Seattle are combatting this with Floor Area Ratio (FAR) regulations that limit the maximum floor space of a dwelling compared to the total lot size. Bozeman’s proposed UDC contains no floor area ratio regulations, though our current UDC does. FAR regulations can also be used to preserve older smaller homes that make up entry level housing opportunities for ownership - if they aren’t able to be redeveloped. See the following article to learn more about the proposal to ban McMansions in Seattle.
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Neighborhood Friendly Zone Edge Transitions
Zone Edge Transition regulations (ZET’s) create a buffer between high and low density zones so that new construction doesn’t overwhelm existing neighborhoods leading to a domino effect of displacement. They include setbacks, step backs, solar access, landscaping and privacy. Bozeman’s current UDC says no transition measures need to be taken if a development is across a street, so we could end up with 100 ft tall building across the street from an established neighborhood.
Our current ZET’s harm existing neighborhoods, but even worse ZET’s are on the horizon. The ZET’s in the proposed draft UDC are so inadequate, that the entire Historic Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB) rejected them unanimously. The new draft still does not require ZET’s across a street, and we think it should.
See the following article to learn more about protecting existing neighborhoods from the impacts of new development.
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Protection of Our Urban Forest
We join with the Bozeman Tree Coalition (BTC) in believing that housing and trees can co-exist. The BTC's mission is to protect the ecological function of Bozeman’s urban forest and the ecosystem services it provides to the community as a whole. The BTC works with all branches of the City of Bozeman to strengthen municipal environmental protection plans and codes and to help the City become a better land steward.
No up zoning in core neighborhoods
Up zoning is when the development potential is increased by code. Where once you could build one house or duplex, now you can build an 8 unit apartment building. This is upzoning.
Down zone where applicable to protect existing affordable housing
The American Planning Association in their December 2023 publication explains the importance of and how to protect Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH).
Down zone historic neighborhoods
Some areas of the Bon Ton and Cooper Park Historic Districts are currently zoned R-4. Areas of the Bon Ton and South Tracey/Black Historic districts are zoned B-3. This zoning designation puts structures in those districts at risk of tear down and redevelopment. Down zoning these areas was recommended by consultants hired in 2018 and is in their final report. Additionally the argument for down zoning historic districts is well supported in this article.
Incorporate stronger historic preservation measures
The proposed draft UDC doesn’t include any updates to the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) or the City’s approach to historic preservation in general. We at the Better Bozeman Coalition question the wisdom of allowing greater development within the central neighborhoods, without strengthening historic preservation in Bozeman.
In 2018, the combined consultant team of Bendon Adams and Orion Planning + Design was tasked with conducting extensive public engagement to best understand the community’s needs and preferences regarding historic preservation, the NCOD, historic district boundaries, and future development. Their report often referred to as the Bendon Adams report is linked here…
https://www.bozeman.net/home/showpublisheddocument/9359/637697126365030000
The full report is worth reading, but some highlights are the following:
1. Phase-in a local historic preservation program
Decide as a community what is important to protect and then ensure that historic resources are protected through stricter demolition criteria and specific maintenance standards for historic properties.
2. In the future, consider the Historical Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB) as a decision making body
A key component to the historic review process is to authorize the Historic Preservation Advisory Board to have final authority on certain projects, rather than just a recommendation. This creates a venue for formal review of a project during a public hearing.
There is a new group of consultants on the scene and the Bendon Adams report was listed as a guiding document in their work. Community Planning Collaborative out of Jacksonville FL has done some amazing work and we have high hopes that they will help our city planners draft code that more adequately protects our historic neighborhoods and future landmarks in Bozeman. You can view their introduction to our Historic Preservation Advisory Board this past November by watching this city meeting video:
To see examples of the Community Planning Cooperative projects, https://www.planningcollab.com/portfolio
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Adopt a Deconstruction Ordinance
Recognizing that resource sustainability is an important part of our mission, the BBC advocates that a deconstruction mandate be incorporated into the code language for removal of buildings over 50 years old.
Older buildings were constructed using quality materials that can be reused or recycled if the building is dismantled properly. If the building is landfilled these materials decay producing methane, adding to our greenhouse gas emissions.
Protect Home and Business Solar Energy Generation
With the draft Unified Development Code proposing significantly taller buildings and smaller setbacks in nearly every zone, we need to make sure existing home and business solar installations are protected and allowed to continue producing clean energy for our community. Other municipalities have such protections:
Unfortunately, in many cases today developers are ignoring the existing codes that protect our urban forest. “Thanks to the June 13-15, 2023, bulldozing project at the Canyon Gate residential and commercial development site, an estimated 140 native, mature cottonwoods, comprising two groves and several smaller stands of trees, were leveled during peak bird nesting season, thus displacing hundreds of birds, as well as thousands of beneficial insects, and dozens of mammals.” For a quick introduction to the importance and challenges of Bozeman’s urban forest, read the full Bozeman Daily Chronicle letter to the editor, “Development Must Preserve Mature Trees, Habitat.”
For more information about the Bozeman Tree Coalition contact, bozemantreecoalition@gmail.com
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Protection of Our Central and Historic Neighborhoods
Bozeman’s central and historic neighborhoods are part of the city’s cultural heritage. Just as we love our historic downtown, we also love the tree lined streets of the surrounding neighborhoods that remind us of our diverse past. To protect these neighborhoods we advocate the following.
Every year the US demolishes 1 billion square feet of existing buildings to replace them with new ones. [Rogers Merlino, K. (2018). Building Reuse; Sustainability, Preservation, and the Value of Design. University of Washington Press] This burdens our municipal landfill unnecessarily. The sustainable solution is to feed these materials into a circular economy through recycling or reuse. A contract with a certified deconstruction contractor would need to be part of an application for demolition of any building over 50 years old city-wide. Other cities have implemented this type of requirement as part of both Historic Preservation and Climate Action Plans.
San Antonio Texas: https://www.sanantonio.gov/historic/CurrentProjects/Deconstruction
Portland Oregon: https://www.portland.gov/bps/climate-action/decon
Milwaukee Wisconsin: https://city.milwaukee.gov/DNS/Inspections_Sections/Decon#.W8UU_HtKhEY
Cook County Illinois: https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/HistoricPreservation/Deconstruction/CookCountyDemolitionDebrisDiversionOrdinance.pdf?ver=2018-10-15-173740-230
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The City of Bozeman has an ambitious goal of 100% clean electricity by 2030! This is just 6 short years away and Bozeman home and business owners are doing their part to get us there. Northwestern Energy reports that there are over 2200 net-meter customers in Bozeman. Together, they represent nearly 20 Megawatts of generation capacity from privately owned solar electric systems. Additionally, many residents also have solar thermal systems (producing hot water) which offsets primarily natural gas consumption. These systems are making significant headway toward our climate goals but also represent a significant financial investment on the part of each home or business owner. These private, grass roots investments deserve protection. There is currently no protection for these systems in our municipal code and none proposed in the new draft.
Boulder Colorado: https://bouldercolorado.gov/services/solar-access-guide
Ashland Oregon: https://www.ashland.or.us/Files/SolarBrochure_WebFormat.pdf
We support Bozeman’s Green Power Program and believe that it is essential that we protect the contribution that home and business owners are making towards our energy security, resilience, and sustainability moving forward. To be good land stewards we believe in encouraging and protecting renewable energy generation within the boundaries of our current built environment.
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Bozeman Deserves a
Neighborhood Friendly UDC
What You Can Do
At the Better Bozeman Coalition, we believe that the challenges of growth can be met without destroying the things that make Bozeman unique. And so our mission is to preserve the unique character of Bozeman’s neighborhoods while working with the city on housing affordability, availability and natural resource sustainability