Bozeman commission schedules June 24 work session, narrows priorities for UDC update

The Bozeman City Commission on June 3 directed staff to return June 24 for focused work sessions on elements of the city’s Unified Development Code update, singling out building mass and scale, targeted zoning map changes, and environment/transportation-related items for near-term review.

The work session matters because Montana’s recent land-use changes require municipalities to adopt certain code changes by May 2026, and commissioners told staff they want narrower, topic-specific meetings to make progress without rushing complex ordinances. “So tonight…we lost two weeks. We’re coming back to the commission on June 24 with another work session,” City Manager (Mr. Wynne) told the commission, referencing the earlier, extended meeting that left the item unfinished.

Commissioners and staff spent more than two hours parsing dozens of public comments and written submissions about parking, neighborhood character, water-course protection, trees, and how the UDC should shape future housing. Commissioners asked staff to prepare detailed options rather than single proposals: priorities included tools to manage bulk and scale (floor-area ratio, stepbacks and transitions), a review of zoning-district rules and allowed uses (including how RA/RB/R5 designations treat multiplexes and small-scale neighborhood retail), and environmental items such as watercourse setbacks, wetland mitigation, and boulevard-tree protections.

Commissioner Boddy recommended staff review technical memos from the Gallatin Watershed Council and the Gallatin Water Collaborative’s Open Channels Working Group to identify “code-cleanup opportunities” and to assess the legal and practical implications of more ambitious, “visionary” language some groups propose. “My more clear recommendation there would be that staff review the Gallatin Watershed Council memo and the open channels working group memo to identify areas where there are clear code cleanup opportunities,” Boddy said.

On trees, commissioners asked that boulevard-tree protections be evaluated quickly and that the city coordinate with the parks department’s upcoming Urban Forest Management Plan. City staff said boulevard-tree regulation and urban-forest planning could proceed in parallel; city forestry staff will lead a summer plan update and may inform future regulatory changes.

Commissioners also asked for options on: whether and how to discourage large parcel assembly that enables “big-box” apartment developments; whether ADU (accessory dwelling unit) rules and incentives should be simplified; and whether limited, small-scale commercial uses should become allowed in additional residential zones. Several commissioners asked staff to analyze implementation impacts — cost, staffing and legal constraints — particularly for proposals that would require ecological inventories or new regulatory enforcement on private property.

Staff told commissioners they will return with granular analyses and draft language where feasible, and with recommendations about which topics are suitable for the June 24 meeting and which require separate sessions. The commission also discussed scheduling longer, earlier-start sessions in July/August to accommodate detailed public engagement and to avoid repeating lengthy late-night meetings.

For now the commission did not adopt final policy changes; members framed their input as direction to staff to study options and prepare materials for additional public work sessions and hearings. The commission’s next formal step on the UDC will be the June 24 work session; staff also flagged possible follow-up dates in August for deeper dives.