Resources posted here are relavant to our Mission
to preserve the unique character of Bozeman’s neighborhoods while working with the city on housing affordability, availability, and natural resource sustainability.
Resources Related to the City of Bozeman
Bozeman City Meeting Videos
Watch past and present
Engage Bozeman
Subscribe to stay informed
Bozeman Community Plan
Aka, Bozeman Growth Policy
Video links to ongoing Citizen Advisory Board meetings, and the City Commission. Scroll down the page further to look up past videos of meetings you may have missed.
Here you'll find all of the projects that the City is working on. Give them your input!
This is the guiding document that all other regulations spring from. It’s a very pro-density document. As a community we will be updating this Plan this year, 2025.
Resources Related to the Proposed UDC Update
Professor Patrick Condon
June 19, 2024
Investigating Neighborhood Character in the Northeast Neighborhood of Bozeman by Dr’s Cowan and Church
An explanation from Professor Patrick Condon to Bozeman residents about the effect of up-zoning on land value and what we can do about it.
“In many communities, smaller, older single-family homes are the largest source of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH)—unsubsidized privately owned residences that are affordable to low- or moderate-income households.”
Explaining the importance of Zone Edge Transitions (ZET’s) setbacks, stepbacks, and other useful tools for planning a livable city.
Dozens of recommendations to our elected officials and city staff regarding necessary changes to the UDC that would add essential housing, protect our neighborhoods, and manage the use of our natural resources sustainably for future generations.
This video recording includes presentations by Mayor Cunningham, Commissioner Bode, and Alison Sweeney ahead of round table discussions on the UDC. The summary of what City officials heard is interesting. Did we manage to turn on a few lightbulbs? Only time will tell.
January 16th, 2025 nearly 60 members of the BBC showed up to talk about the proposed draft UDC with Mayor Cunningham, Commissioner Bode, and several city staff. Here’s the post-engagement report
The Unified Development Code (UDC) says what can be built where. Visit this page to see what’s being proposed. The map has an amazing amount of detail and the ability to toggle back and forth to view the existing and proposed zoning for your neighborhood or anywhere in town. Check it out!
This grant funded study was conducted at the request of NENA, the Northeast Neighborhood Association, and is exactly the kind of study that would inform neighborhood level planning districts.
In 2017 the Regional and Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) met with residents of the Northeast Neighborhood. This report is the result and it’s a fascinating barometer for success. Is the City listening to the desires of the neighborhood? Where are we falling short?
Resources Related to Historic Preservation
This comprehensive report issued in 2019, was based on extensive outreach to the citizens of Bozeman. The report includes recommended changes to our zoning and development code that will protect our historic resources.
The National Alliance of Preservation Commissions’ quarterly publication, which provides members with engaging articles on a variety of topics related to historic preservation.
The Relevancy Guidebook Landmark Illinois
This guidebook talks about affordable housing preservation and creation, fighting climate change, and expanding preservation job opportunities through adaptive reuse. How preservation is relevant in our changing world!
A handbook for cultural resource review and compliance in Montana, put out by the State Historic Preservation Office known as SHPO.
This is a colorful, 70 slide presentation, with slides specific to Bozeman, that answers questions such as, What is historic preservation? Who is preservation for? Who does it benefit? Who decides what is “historic”? By Prof. Kathryn R. Merlino
Meet the Historic Preservation Consultants the City has hired to help draft a Local Landmark Program and advise on the fate of the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD)
This is the City’s Engage Bozeman page on the Local Landmark Program. Find info and subscribe!
Bozeman’s Historic Preservation program is possible because we are a Certified Local Government or CLG. This local, state, and federal partnership program offers technical assistance and grants to communities taking action to protect their unique character.
Resources Related to Affordable Housing
Affordable Housing Assessment 2021
A report by Root Policy
An Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AHOZ) is different than our City’s AHO! The intent is to protect naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) and neighborhood character, while incentivizing local builders to produce the Missing Middle housing we need.
Wolf Avenue, an 8-unit property located in Missoula’s Northside neighborhood, officially transitioned into resident ownership, marking a significant milestone for the residents.
Residents of the Belgrade Village Mobile Home Park are one step closer to owning the land below their mobile homes thanks to a coalition of housing partners ranging from Neighborworks, HRDC, and Gallatin County.
This is an excellent locally-produced video that introduces the concept of Social Housing to provide municipally owned, permanently affordable, mixed-income housing without raising local homeowners property taxes.
This report suggests smaller post war homes have value as NOAH, and articulates several strategies for protecting them from gentrification resulting from redevelopment.
Pay special attention to pages 43 and 44 of the report where preserving existing affordable housing can be achieved through Historic Preservation strategies and overlay zones.
This MRSC report is accessible even to the beginner because it describes what gentrification and displacement are, how they result from upzoning, and how an AHOZ can be used to prevent it.
Starting on page 16 this report from the American Planning Association describes how zoning overlays can be used to protect both naturally occurring affordable housing, and the business districts that serve those neighborhoods as well.
How do we make it easier for our local builders to add more housing in a neighborhood friendly context? This toolkit offers a few easy fixes, the low hanging fruit, that we can address in our municipal code, to allow for incremental development.
This report from UC Berkeley is important because it describes how an overlay zone differs from inclusionary zoning which was banned by our state legistlature in 2021
Escaping the Housing Trap, Charles Marohn presents to Bozeman
Bozeman’s Affordable Housing Ordinance incentives keep us stuck in The Housing Trap, where more people have to pay more money for housing. Developer Investors have even trapped municipalities in this vicious cycle. Click the image to watch his presentation to Bozeman. Also see below for the follow-up Bozeman specific podcast from ST.
Tax Increment Financing can be a helpful tool. It can also bankrupt cities. Read this FAQ document to learn of the potential benefits and pitfalls of TIF.
A key component to the success of the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AHOZ) in Cambridge was its extensive public engagement to develop specific design guidelines for what the new housing would look like and how it would blend in with existing neighborhoods. This allowed for the developments to be approved in a streamlined process.
A truly in-depth and unbiased look at the current go-to policy tool for funding affordable housing. This is an article or a podcast, so read or listen as you like.
Resources Related to Sustainability
Developing Bozeman: An inconvenient reality that Gallatin County is running out of water
Northwestern Energy reports that there are over 2200 net-meter solar customers in Bozeman. Together, they represent nearly 20 Megawatts of generation capacity from privately owned solar electric systems. This is a summary of best practices in zoning for solar.
Every development application in Bozeman is assessed for the amount of water it will use. Unless they bring water rights to the city, developers must pay the City a one-time fee to offset this amount of water. This payment is known as Cash-In-Lieu of Water Rights. This manual lays out the guidelines city staff uses to evaluate water adequacy.
This is a beneficial agreement between and City of Bozeman and the Gallatin Watershed Council to work together to foster an urban forest that promotes a healthy, resilient and equitable future for the watershed, wildlife, and people of the greater Bozeman area.
Bozeman adopted an Urban Forestry Management Plan in 2016. Key recommendations include planting new trees with more species diversity, improving the maintenance cycle of urban trees, preparing our urban forest for invasive pests and diseases.
See how we’re doing! Notice on page 15 a discussion of dimensional lumber ending up in our landfill. We’ve had 95 demolitions in the past 5 years. A deconstruction ordinance could divert some of this usable building material from the landfill and reduce our emissions.
Headline: Bozeman Water Adequacy Ballot Initiative Proposal Seeks to Conserve Water While Providing Affordable Housing For Rent and For Sale. More at wardbzn.com
Resources related to the City Government Study Commission
Watch the initial meeting of the City Government Study Commission. Officers are sworn in, introductions take place, and they receive special presentations regarding their roles and responsibilities. View the agenda here. Future meetings will be posted on the City’s calendar.
Local & National Media Resources
Here you can find both Letters to the Editors and Editorials.
Lot’s of great articles by our members, and other concerned citizens!
Co-authored by Ennis Davis of Community Planning Collaborative (consultants hired by the City of Bozeman for the Local Landmark Program) and Bill Delaney. Suggests there are policy tools to combat gentrification and displacement.
Ok, the title is terrible, but even our respectably paid professionals in Bozeman are finding housing unaffordable. Read this and see what you think.
Podcasts and books about housing economics
December 2023
A Bozeman-Specific episode of Strong Towns
Charles Marohn answers the questions he wasn’t able to get to in January’s webinar.