Bozeman Commission work session narrows UDC changes as neighbors press for zoning protections

Bozeman City Commission members spent the Nov. 18 work session digging into the draft Unified Development Code (UDC), with staff and the Community Development Board (CDB) outlining substantive edits and neighborhood proposals ahead of a Dec. 2 public hearing.

The discussion focused on standards intended to implement the 2020 community plan and recent state land-use law changes, map cleanups and three neighborhood-led requests to alter zoning designations. Community Development Director Erin George said, “It's been a long road to get here,” noting the process began in 2022 and that staff expect a public hearing packet for Dec. 2 and a second reading Dec. 16.

Why it matters: The UDC overhaul will reorganize development rules across Bozeman, set new minimum densities in residential districts, change how transitions between different zones are measured, and adjust design standards that govern building massing, entrances and facade articulation. Those edits determine what property owners can build and influence the long-term shape of neighborhoods, infrastructure needs and housing supply.

What staff and the CDB recommended

Chris Saunders, who presented the CDB’s November recommendations, summarized roughly 14 substantive edits the board advanced. Staff and the board generally agreed on clarifications to how rules are applied and on several substantive items, including: raising the per-tenant restaurant size allowed in the Northeast HMU (the board recommended 3,000 square feet), refining zone-edge transition language to avoid unfair burdens on subject lots, tightening facade articulation requirements and keeping a 24-dwelling cap per building in the RC district with a narrowly defined exception for qualifying affordable-housing projects.

Saunders said the board’s recommended changes will be packaged for the public hearing; staff advised commissioners that some clarifications (for example, easement language for water users) will revert to the prior wording while further work continues.

Neighborhood map proposals and public comment

Two resident-led proposals — Centennial Park and Bon Ton — requested downzoning in parts of the northeast neighborhoods. The Centennial Park proposal asks that a defined area be zoned RA (lower-density residential) and would let many existing buildings be split into smaller, internally divided units while preserving neighborhood scale. The Bon Ton petition sought similar protections for that neighborhood; public commenters and petitioners described canvassing and submitted signatures in support.

Public comment was extensive and sharply divided. Supporters urged the commission to affirm neighborhood character and use the UDC window to enact downzoning protections, while opponents warned that more restrictive zoning could reduce near‑downtown housing supply. Resident Jim Webster urged the commission to “ensure that [the UDC] fully protects Bozeman's historic neighborhoods,” while another commenter observed that the CDB discussion at times felt like “playing the computer game SimCity,” arguing staff and boards must balance technical planning with lived neighborhood character.

Commission reaction and next steps

Several commissioners said they were inclined to support Centennial Park’s RA request given its neighborhood composition and the staff analysis; views on Bon Ton were more mixed, with several commissioners seeking a middle ground (RB) rather than the CDB’s RC recommendation. Commissioners asked staff for clearer packet materials ahead of the Dec. 2 hearing — notably, a request for more specific staff analysis tied to the growth-policy criteria for those two neighborhood submissions.

Staff emphasized the difference between the current public-comment process (where neighborhood petitions were accepted as comment on the UDC) and a formal zone map amendment process (which requires a fee, formal notices and a multi-month review). City Manager Wynne and staff said the Dec. 2 hearing will accept additional written and oral public comment and that staff will publish updated redline material and a packet summarizing proposed amendments before the hearing.

The matter will return for the public hearing Dec. 2; commissioners may take formal votes on first reading then. If an ordinance is provisionally adopted on Dec. 2, final adoption is scheduled two weeks later and staff recommended a 45-day effective date to allow implementation work.