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Bozeman officials outline multi-year Unified Development Code update, keep public engagement open
Summary
City staff described the status, schedule and public outreach for a multi-year rewrite of Bozeman's zoning (the Unified Development Code), highlighting required state changes, extensive community workshops and a draft code now under revision.
Tom Rogers, a project lead with Bozeman's Community Development Department, told the Sustainability Advisory Board on April 9 that the city is continuing a multi-year Unified Development Code (UDC) rewrite now in supplemental Phase 2 of public engagement.
The update implements Bozeman's 2020 community plan, incorporates dozens of adopted topic plans including the Climate Action Plan, and responds to new state requirements such as the Montana Land Use and Planning Act (MLUPA), Rogers said. A draft code first released in August 2023 was revised after public comment; the current draft dates from October 2024 and remains under review.
Rogers said the UDC project began in 2022 and has used a two-phase supplementary engagement program to refine the draft. Phase 1 asked residents what matters most; Phase 2 ran topic workshops and site-level conversations. The city mailed information to every property, hosted six workshops (four in person and two online) at locations including Sacajawea Middle School and Wilson Elementary, and convened targeted meetings with advisory boards. "Everything that I'm going to show this evening, is online here," Rogers said, pointing board members to the Engage Bozeman portal where materials and archived comments are posted. "We are still in engagement," he added.
Rogers outlined the project's timeline: an initial draft (Aug. 2023), a pause while the commission considered public responses, substantial revisions, and an October 2024 draft that forms the basis for the current outreach. He said the city intends to revise the code based on feedback, return to the community for additional review, and then proceed through public hearings and ordinance adoption steps required by state law. He noted the state legislature continues to act on land-use matters that could affect the timeline and content.
The draft proposes several technical changes, including consolidation of some residential zoning categories (Rogers said the proposal reduces five district types down from seven in the current code draft) and updated standards intended to implement transportation and climate goals. Rogers also showed shadow studies for a hypothetical 37-foot building at summer and winter solstices to illustrate potential impacts on neighboring properties.
Board members praised the breadth of outreach but asked for additional detail on engagement methods and representativeness. Rogers said the city did not run a statistically random survey for the UDC outreach, noting the public input process is self-selected; the city does participate in broader community surveys for ongoing performance metrics. He urged the board to continue offering targeted recommendations and said any individual, advisory board or staff can later initiate text amendments if the commission or community requests changes.
The Sustainability Advisory Board and the city will continue the conversation; staff expect to bring refined code language and recommended implementation tools back to the city commission for guidance before formal hearings. Rogers asked board members to send any site-specific examples or unresolved issues to staff so planners can analyze and, if needed, perform site visits.
