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Commission approves Downtown BID and multiple urban renewal budgets; Midtown parking and URD boards draw debate
Summary
The Bozeman City Commission approved the Downtown BID work plan and multiple urban renewal district budgets, while debate focused on a $5 million Midtown parking allocation, the lack of reliable parking-supply data and whether URD advisory boards should be revived.
The Bozeman City Commission on May 6 approved the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) work plan and multiple urban renewal district (URD) budgets and work plans for fiscal year 2026, while commissioners and members of the public debated priorities for public parking, URD governance and neighborhood engagement.
The Downtown BID presented a fiscal year 2026 budget that funds downtown maintenance, graffiti removal, flower baskets, event support, and a continuing contribution to downtown safety programs. BID representatives noted volunteer and seasonal staffing continuity and a contract to maintain downtown parking-garage cleaning.
City staff and downtown partners presented the downtown URD work plan, which included ongoing payments on existing downtown parking garage bonds, utility upgrades, park enhancements, and a $5 million allocation toward future parking supply. The downtown URD work plan was adopted after a unanimous vote.
The commission then heard and approved work plans and budgets for several additional URDs: Midtown, Northeast, Poll Yard, North Park and South Bozeman Technology. The Midtown URD budget drew extended discussion: it includes design and due-diligence funds for a potential midtown parking solution and $5.5 million in planned appropriations, and staff said they will issue a request for proposals to private developers to explore public-private parking options. Staff described prior investments in streetscape and Festival Street improvements and said the district will focus on infrastructure, public-safety enhancements and parking supply.
Commissioners and speakers repeatedly stressed the absence of consistent parking-supply data and urged better counts and analysis to guide decisions. Staff said parking-count improvements were planned and that data would be available in the coming months. Several commissioners and members of the public recommended that the city consider re-establishing URD advisory boards or other neighborhood engagement processes so affected residents and property owners can advise priorities for district funds. Several URD budgets were approved by 4-0 votes.
Other URD highlights: the Downtown URD is scheduled to expire in 2032 and will continue payments tied to the downtown garage; Midtown plans to pursue a public-private approach for structured parking and to reimburse prior sewer work shared with downtown; Northeast planned small-scale neighborhood projects and quiet-zone efforts at railroad crossings; Poll Yard and North Park budgets preserved funds to assemble projects, and the South Bozeman Technology District anticipates tax increment revenues sufficient to issue bonds to reimburse earlier infrastructure contributions that enabled the MSU Innovation Campus expansion.
The commission approved all budgets on the consent/action calendar by unanimous votes; commissioners asked staff to return with more parking data and to evaluate where URD advisory boards or additional neighborhood engagement would be appropriate.
