Bozeman neighborhood reps press city on ADU incentives, financing and short‑term rental enforcement after Strong Towns webinar

Neighborhood representatives, city staff and Bozeman’s deputy mayor spent the Feb. 13 Interneighborhood Council meeting debating how to convert owner‑occupied property into more housing and how the city should use new tools such as the recently adopted affordable housing ordinance.

The discussion opened as an FYI about a Strong Towns webinar the group hosted for Bozeman; participants said the presentation highlighted low‑cost, locally led tools — including incentives for existing homeowners to create accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — and prompted questions about whether the city can help overcome financing and enforcement barriers.

Why it matters: Bozeman officials said the city seeks to increase units affordable to local workers while protecting neighborhood character. Council and commission members described tradeoffs between using limited public funds for small “invisible infill” ADUs versus subsidizing larger affordable projects, and they flagged legal and staffing limits that constrain what local government can require or enforce.

Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison said ADUs “and creating some sort of incentive package is still on our commission priority list,” but he…