Bozeman commission adopts Phase 1 of landmark project; directs code drafting in Phase 2

The Bozeman City Commission on May 13 adopted the Phase 1 report for the Bozeman Landmark Project, sending the package into Phase 2 for code drafting and design-guideline work.

The report, produced by consultant Community Planning Collaborative and staff in the Community Development Department, recommends updates to section 38-3-40 of the Unified Development Code (the NCOD provisions), an overhaul of NCOD design guidelines and creation of a new local landmark program. Community Development Director Aaron George told commissioners that "adopting this report tonight does not necessarily mean that all future recommendations will for sure happen," and that Phase 2 will draft the exact ordinance language.

Why it matters: the Phase 1 report is a policy-level framework that would expand Bozeman's preservation program beyond the existing Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District, update nearly two-decade-old design guidance and create a locally controlled process to recognize cultural, landscape and architectural resources. Those shifts could change how demolitions, rehabilitation and new development in older neighborhoods are reviewed.

The report summarizes public engagement—about 292 full online survey responses, community meetings last summer and targeted outreach—plus prior consultant work from 2015 and 2019. Consultant Adrienne Burke said the team recommends moving immediately into Phase 2, and that "the phase 2 recommendations will be implemented this summer." Burke and staff emphasized the Phase 1 document does not contain final code language; that will be developed and publicly vetted in Phase 2.

Key recommendations in Phase 2 include: revising the certificate of appropriateness (COA) and demolition criteria in UDC Section 38-3-40; updating and in many cases replacing the NCOD design guidelines; creating a local landmark nomination and designation program with categories that can include history, culture, archaeology and heritage trees; and creating a simplified local inventory form to document more properties.

Commission discussion focused on how to balance prescriptive zoning (height, setbacks, mass and scale) with flexible design guidelines (materials, window rhythm, roof forms) so design review does not produce cookie-cutter results. Commissioner Fisher asked how to avoid turning guidelines into rigid code; Burke and staff recommended placing clear, measurable standards (for example, height and setbacks) in the UDC while keeping style-based guidance in a separate design-guidelines document.

The Historic Preservation Advisory Board and the Community Development Board both recommended two edits: (1) move a complete overhaul of the design guidelines into the Phase 2 scope; and (2) defer any NCOD boundary map changes until after Phase 2 is complete and the updated guidelines and code are in place. The commission accepted those recommendations as part of the adopted motion.

Public comments at the hearing included calls for more staff capacity and enforcement from longtime preservation advocates and several residents who urged immediate action on heritage tree protections and stronger demolition standards. Jant Neighborhood chair Lisonbee Sweeney told the commission that "one of the most egregious wrongs of the last decade has been the systematic dismantling of historic preservation in Bozeman," and asked the city to fund a full-time, properly resourced preservation program.

Next steps: staff will return with a Phase 2 work program, a contract extension for the consultant and procurement for a historic architect to rewrite the NCOD design guidelines. Staff estimates Phase 2 work to begin in early June with a target completion by the end of 2025, though timing could extend into 2026 depending on workload and funding. The commission vote to adopt the Phase 1 report (including the advisory-board edits) passed 4-0.

Commissioner comments and staff notes closed the item with direction to align the Phase 2 code drafting and UDC work now underway so that zoning standards addressing mass, scale and transition can be reconciled with preservation guidance. That coordinated approach will guide how design rules are split between mandatory code provisions and discretionary guidelines.

Implementation details, proposed code text, any zone map amendments (for NCOD boundary changes) and staffing or budget requests will return to the commission for formal ordinance adoption and budget approval during Phase 2.