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Bozeman advisory board briefed on new local landmark program and NCOD design guideline overhaul
Summary
City staff outlined a two-part preservation effort: a new local landmark program to recognize historic resources citywide and a rewrite of Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) design guidelines. Consultants will lead community engagement starting in April with a target to complete code updates by year-end.
City preservation staff presented a multi-part plan to the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board on Jan. 13 to create a local landmark program and update the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) design guidelines.
Sarah, the staff presenter, said the local landmark program will create designation criteria, a nomination process and review standards to recognize and protect historic and cultural resources citywide rather than rely solely on the existing NCOD boundary and National Register processes. “Preservation is not about freezing places in time or stopping change,” Sarah said; the goal, she added, is to manage change in ways that respect what makes places meaningful to the community.
The code component will revise certificate-of-appropriateness standards used for exterior alterations, new construction and demolition within the NCOD. Staff said the revisions aim to make standards more objective and enforceable, clarifying what should be mandatory in code versus what should remain a guideline.
Two consultants were named: Community Planning Collaborative (working on the local landmark project) and the Lakota Group (leading the NCOD design-guideline update). Sarah said Lakota will be introduced virtually in February and will conduct in-person community engagement the week they visit in April; HPAB is scheduled to hold topic-focused code discussions beginning March 31. Staff said community engagement will span April–May and that draft code will go to the advisory board, the Community Development board, and then the city commission for final adoption.
Board members asked whether running the landmark program and guideline update in parallel would cause confusion. Staff answered the efforts are intentionally overlapping so each can inform the other and so a coherent set of decisions can be made before final adoption.
Members also raised practical questions about timing: the NCOD design guidelines were last substantially updated in 2006 (with a minor update in 2015), and staff said the goal is to complete guideline updates this year and to publish a schedule so board members and the public can plan to participate. Sarah said staff will compile relevant past meetings and materials for new members and the public to review.
Staff noted process details that will be clarified during the project: how local landmark designations would differ from National Register listings, how enforcement levels will vary by designation type, and what materials applicants must submit with certificate-of-appropriateness applications. The updates aim to improve transparency, predictability and usability for property owners, designers and staff.
The board did not vote or take formal action on these projects at the meeting; staff invited HPAB participation in the upcoming engagement and technical review steps.
