City approves annexation and RB zoning for L Street site despite Superfund-era concerns

The Bozeman City Commission voted on Dec. 16 to annex roughly 17.92 acres along L Street (application 25360) and to adopt a zone map amendment assigning the property an R3 (now RB) designation, subject to contingencies and an annexation agreement.

Senior planner Tom Rogers told the commission the site sits adjacent to Story Mill Park and lies within the East Gallatin River corridor; it is also part of the broader Idaho Pole controlled groundwater/Superfund area and subject to institutional controls. Rogers recommended a notice and covenant be recorded with annexation requiring current and future owners to comply with EPA/DEQ institutional controls.

Rogers and his team produced a development-scenario exercise to give commissioners a sense of scale if the parcel were developed. Using conservatively drawn lines that removed 100-foot river setbacks, wetlands and estimated floodplains, staff estimated roughly 10 acres of potentially developable land (about an 82-unit gross estimate at the low end). The applicant’s consultant produced a separate calculation of approximately 8.7 net acres. Both speakers emphasized these are high-level estimates and that site-level delineation, wetland/floodplain mapping and engineering will be required before any development approvals.

Public commenters raised environmental and health concerns. Neighbors and members of the Bozeman Tree Coalition urged the commission to consider a PLI/heritage designation or lower-density zoning and expressed skepticism about the adequacy of cleanup and potential for excavation to expose contaminants. Mark Campanelli underscored a county health-district letter that cautioned excavation could mobilize subsurface contaminants and create off-site pathways to the adjacent park.

Commissioners voted to approve annexation unanimously and then approved the R3 (RB) zoning map amendment with contingencies and an implementing ordinance by a 4–1 vote, with Commissioner Magic recorded as No. Commissioners and the city attorney said annexation does not transfer liability to the city; rather, the annexation commits the land to municipal standards and the city can require additional institutional controls at the time of development to protect public health.

Staff and the applicant noted that the property is within a HUD-qualifying census tract and could be eligible for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) if future projects pursued that funding path, but they stressed any affordable-housing outcome would depend on future funding and development economics.