HomeMy WebLinkAboutGrowth policy replacement staff report PB Revised - July 21, 2020Page 1 of 14
16-521, Planning Board Staff Report for adoption of a new growth policy in 2020.
Public Hearing Dates:
Planning Board Meeting (Public Hearing) July 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm. Meeting to be held via WebEx,
a video conferencing system.
Project Description: Adoption of a new growth policy to entirely replace the existing growth
policy. A growth policy documents community values, establishes goals, and translates those to
planning for locations and nature of future land development. The adopted growth policy guides
development of regulations, annexation, infrastructure installation and funding, and budget
priorities.
Project Location: The proposed growth policy applies to the entire City and looks outwards to
include property within the future potential municipal water and sewer services area. The boundary
of the planning area is shown in Chapter 3 of the growth policy and Section 1 of this report.
Planning Board Recommended Motion: Having reviewed and considered the draft growth
policy, public comment, and all information presented, I hereby move to adopt the findings
presented in the staff report and recommend approval of the growth policy to the City Commission.
Report Date: July 13, 2020
Staff Contact: Chris Saunders and Tom Rogers
Agenda Item Type: Action- Legislative
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Unresolved Issues
None
Project Summary
The City conducts long range planning to:
1. Protect the public health and safety and advance the well-being of the community at
large, while respecting and protecting the interests of individuals within the community.
2. Provide a supportive framework for private action which balances the rights and
responsibilities of many persons.
3. Facilitate the democratic development of the public policies and regulations that guide
the community.
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4. Improve the physical environment of the community as a setting for human activities,
more functional, beautiful, healthful, and efficient.
5. Coordinate technical knowledge, political will, and long-range thinking in community
development in both short and long term decisions.
6. Identifies the citizen's goals and priorities for their community and how they wish to
carry out those ideals.
7. Encourage efficiency and effectiveness by government through coordinated policies and
programs.
8. Serves as a reference bench mark for community priorities, physical attributes such as
size, and social and economic information such as housing and jobs. A growth policy is
an abstract of a community.
9. Support economic development by providing basic information about the community to
prospective citizens and employers. A well done, and implemented, plan shows that a
community is actively trying to improve their area.
The formal term in state law for a community’s comprehensive plan is ‘growth policy’. The
development of a growth policy is a primary responsibility of the Planning Board and is
directed by Sections 76-1-601 through 76-1-606, MCA. Bozeman has had a formal
comprehensive plan since 1958. Careful planning by individuals and small groups prior to that
time created the historic areas of the community. Since 1958, Bozeman has had six
comprehensive plans.
The growth policy sets broad policy standards and coordinates between many municipal
functions. It is the land use policy document for the community. A community has broad
latitude in the level of detail they wish to address in their growth policy. Certain subjects are
required to be addressed. The City Commission adopted Resolution 4112 in July 2008.
Resolution 4112 commits the City to undertaking certain coordinated infrastructure planning
with Gallatin County. This is not a jointly adopted growth policy but coordination occurs
within individual growth policies. This coordination manifests in many ways. Most recently
the City and County cooperated in the preparation of the “Triangle Plan” a neighborhood plan
under the County’s growth policy which includes portions of the Bozeman planning area.
Since the adoption of the Bozeman Community Plan in 2009, Bozeman has grown in both
area and population. The plan held up well under the strain but needed to be updated to
address changing conditions. The City Commission directed the Planning Board and Staff to
prepare an update in 2016. The process began with data collection summarized in the 2018
report by Economic Planning Systems.
The Planning Board conducted many public meetings and outreach events to garner input
from the community. Appendix A of the growth policy describes the various outreach
approaches to date. Additional outreach events will be added to the appendix to summarize
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all the outreach completed through the adoption process. Various elements of the document
were reviewed by the public. A compiled complete draft document was made available in
December 2019. A public hearing was held by the Planning Board on December 17, 2019.
Another was scheduled for March 17, 2019 but was cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
The proposed plan had been posted to the project website and advertised.
After the plan was initially posted online in December 2019, numerous public meetings were
held by the Planning Board during this time to discuss revisions. These meetings were held
electronically due to restrictions on in person public meetings. These meetings, agendas and
all materials were available to the public through the City’s website and other means. The
Planning Board accepted public comment and began a review of the document. The Planning
Board directed a number of changes to the text and future land use map. On June 16, 2020
the Planning Board directed changes to the document and that a public hearing be advertised
for consideration of adoption of the revised draft.
The directed changes have been completed. A new draft has been published and noticed to
the public. After the advertised public hearing on July 21, 2020, the Planning Board needs to
make a recommendation on the document, with or without changes, to the City Commission.
Substantive changes to the growth policy
The Bozeman Community Plan 2020 (BCP) confirms and carries forward community priorities
established in prior growth policies. The following items are significant changes between the
proposed draft and the existing adopted plan. To see all changes review the documents. 2009
Bozeman Community Plan. The text of the Proposed new growth policy is linked here.
1. Narrower focus. The City has adopted several additional plans for sustainability, affordable housing, and other topics since the last growth policy. The Planning Board deliberately narrowed the focus of the proposed draft to emphasize land use. Therefore, subjects with
their own plans have less discussion and there are fewer chapters in the proposed draft. People wanting information on those subjects should see the specific topic plan they are interested in.
2. Slightly expanded planning area. The planning area boundary was expanded in two areas to allow examination of community edges and transition to County areas as well as to
coordinate with other facility plans. The two changes are along Huffine Lane to include the Rae Water and Sewer district and in the northwest corner of planning area.
3. Document formatting. The Bozeman Community Plan uses a different document format and structure. Chapter structure, page layout, and inclusion of web links to access on-line documents referenced in the plan are provided. Chapters are considerably shorter and are
primarily focused on the goals and objectives. Background information is contained in the appendices or the independent topic plans.
4. Increased emphasis on mixed use. The Urban Neighborhood category in particular is broader in its language. Some of the land use categories have been renamed and consolidated.
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5. Future Land Use Map. The future land use map, see Chapter 3, has two substantial changes.
A. The map does not show only the use of land needed to serve new population expected
over the 20 year reach of the growth policy. Instead, the map shows how the City thinks land throughout the planning area should develop in the future if the landowners choose to change from its current use. This may take very many years to come to pass. The City continues its encouragement of annexation occurring prior to development of land.
B. The Business Park Mixed Use and Suburban Residential categories were removed from
the land use categories. All of these areas have been changed to another category. Several categories from the 2009 growth policy were aggregated into the Parks and Open Lands category.
6. Access to the final document is expected to be primarily through the City’s website. The
future land use map in particular is of a scale that it is easier to read and understand with
this method.
Alternatives
1. Recommend approval of the growth policy;
2. Recommend approval of the growth policy with modifications;
3. Recommend the City Commission do not adopt the growth policy.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 1
Unresolved Issues ............................................................................................................... 1
Project Summary ................................................................................................................. 1
Substantive changes to the growth policy ........................................................................... 3
Alternatives ......................................................................................................................... 4
SECTION 1 - MAP SERIES .................................................................................................... 6
SECTION 2 - RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUTURE ACTIONS ...................................... 7
SECTION 3 - STAFF ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ............................................................. 7
1. Improve the present health, safety, convenience, and welfare of their citizens. ........... 8
2. Plan for the future development of their communities to the end that highway systems
be carefully planned; ..................................................................................................... 9
3. That new community centers grow only with adequate highway, utility, health,
educational, and recreational facilities; ......................................................................... 9
4. That the needs of agriculture, industry, and business be recognized in future growth; 9
5. That residential areas provide healthy surroundings for family life; .......................... 10
6. The growth of the community be commensurate with and promotive of the efficient
and economical use of public funds. ........................................................................... 11
APPENDIX A - COORDINATION WITH GALLATIN COUNTY AND OTHERS .......... 11
APPENDIX B – NOTICING AND PUBLIC COMMENT ................................................... 12
APPENDIX C - REVIEWING STAFF .................................................................................. 13
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SECTION 1 - MAP SERIES
Map 1: Proposed Planning Area Boundary, Bozeman Community Plan. Current City limits shown
in white. Orange outlined area is where the City currently has water/sewer services available.
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Map 2: Future Land Use Map, Bozeman Community Plan, page 47
SECTION 2 - RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUTURE ACTIONS
Having considered the criteria established for a growth policy map amendment, the Staff finds the
draft document meets the requirements of state law and can be adopted.
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on July 21, 2020 to take public comment and make
a recommendation to the City Commission regarding the growth policy adoption.
The City Commission will hold public hearing(s) on the growth policy prior to any action to
approve, amend or reject the document. The dates for City Commission meetings are not finalized.
SECTION 3 - STAFF ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Planning staff reviewed this application for a growth policy against the criteria set forth in Section
76-1-102 MCA. Staff found that this proposal satisfies all of the required review criteria.
Analysis and resulting recommendations are based on the entirety of the application materials,
municipal codes, standards, plans, public comment, and all other materials available during the
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review period. Collectively this information is the record of the review. The analysis in this report
is a summary of the completed review.
In considering applications for approval under this title, the Planning Board and City Commission
shall consider the following criteria. As adoption of a growth policy is a legislative action, the
Commission has broad latitude to determine policy direction.
Section 76-1-601 MCA specifies the required contents of a growth policy. The same section also
allows for a number of voluntary items. State law allows substantial community discretion in
addressing the required subjects. Attached to this report is a table showing where all required
elements have been addressed.
There are required steps to adopt or revise a growth policy. For this growth policy, the Planning
Board will conduct the required public hearing after proper notice, will forward a
recommendation of adoption by resolution, the City Commission will adopt a resolution of
intent, and the City Commission’s hearing will be given proper notice. After these steps occur
the City Commission may adopt, revise, or reject the growth policy.
This is a complete replacement and not an amendment. Therefore, the amendment criteria of
Chapter 17 of the present growth policy do not apply. There are no specific review criteria for
adopting a growth policy in state law. However, 76-1-102 MCA establishes the purposes for
planning. Lacking other defined statutory criteria, these purposes are the standard against which
adoption of a growth policy is measured by the City. These items overlap in various ways and
working on one will often advance another. The description below is a summary. The complete
intent and compliance with criteria may be evaluated by reviewing the full document, supporting
special topic plans, as well as this report.
1. Improve the present health, safety, convenience, and welfare of their citizens.
The BCP meets this criterion by coordinating between multiple facility plans. The facility
plans address transportation, fire protection, parks and recreation, water, wastewater, and
other services. All of these facilities protect health and safety. Safe and functional
transportation supports timely emergency responses. Water systems support suppression of
fire and avoidance of communicable disease. Parks and trails encourage a physically active
and healthy community. Other elements of the plan such as support for economic
development support the general welfare by encouraging a economically vigorous
community with resources to meet the needs of citizens. By establishing common community
goals and aspirations, land use regulations can be drafted and policies enacted to advance
those goals. The BCP addresses the purposes of planning identified in the statutory purposes
of planning.
Health, safety, convenience, and welfare are issues woven throughout the document and
the various topic specific plans for various City functions. The requirements for an
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infrastructure plan and coordination with Gallatin County are included in Appendix E.
Effective collaboration improves all of the elements in this criterion.
2. Plan for the future development of their communities to the end that highway systems
be carefully planned;
The City, County, MDT, and others participate in coordinated transportation planning
through the Transportation Coordinating Committee. A new transportation plan was adopted
in 2017. The transportation plan covers the same planning area as the BCP. The street
character and layout is consistent with the BCP. The BCP establishes goals and policies
which supports development of a fully functional, multi-modal transportation system. See
especially Chapter 2, Theme 5. The transportation plan and BCP allow coordination across
jurisdictional boundaries so that as annexation occurs and roads or other transportation means
are developed the transportation system will function efficiently.
The City of Bozeman, City of Belgrade, and Gallatin County have prepared the Triangle
Community Plan (TCP) to facilitate coordination between the jurisdictions in the areas where
their planning areas overlap. A key element of the TCP is coordination of transportation
systems and standards. The adoption process for the TCP is presently underway. Bozeman
accepted the TCP in April 2020.
3. That new community centers grow only with adequate highway, utility, health,
educational, and recreational facilities;
The BCP continues established policies for concurrency of infrastructure necessary to
meet the needs of development. These policies have been formalized as development
standards and requirements in the municipal code. The various facility plans referenced in the
BCP describe service levels and facilities required to meet current and future needs. Chapters
26, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 42 of the municipal code enact these plans and purposes.
Some of these items are provided by an entity other than the City of Bozeman. Those
items are addressed also with demonstration of compliance being required during the land
development review process. The intent of this criterion is brought into physical existence
through the land development standards adopted by the City and other regulatory agencies.
4. That the needs of agriculture, industry, and business be recognized in future growth;
The BCP sets aside a land base for all of these activities. The land use pattern, provision
of timely and adequate infrastructure, and overall community health supported in the plan
support a healthy economy. Policies encourage the development of local production and
businesses in a wide range of areas, including agriculture. The future land use map in
Chapter 3 includes a land base adequate to meet the expected needs of the community for
economic activity for the planning period of the growth policy, at least the next 20 years. The
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BCP coordinates policies and facilities in order to provide necessary services at a constrained
cost.
The BCP encourages urban intensity annexed development. Development on municipal
services allows a much higher intensity of uses. Urban development within the City lowers
stress on agricultural properties to stop production and reduces conflicts with rural residential
development disrupting agricultural operations.
The overall Planning Area for the BCP is about 70 square miles. The City has 21 square
miles within its legal boundaries. Although the Planning Area numbers seem much larger
they don’t represent as much expansion or potential for change as may appear. The attached
growth policy update context map shows the City and Planning Area boundaries. Also shown
on the map and legend are the size and number of parcels outside of the City and within the
Planning Area. Out of the approximately 50 square miles outside the City and within the
Planning Area there are only 148 parcels that are larger than 40 acres and not already under a
conservation easement or in public ownership. A number of these larger parcels are
physically constrained from development by floodplains, steep slopes, or other limitations. In
comparison, there are 3,349 parcels that are less than five acres. There are more parcels of
less than five acres than all other types of parcels combined. This demonstrates that the
Planning Area outside of the City limits is substantially transitioning to a non-agricultural
land use pattern.
Recognizing this reality, the future land use map (FLUM) in Chapter 3 does not attempt to
specify which parcels will develop to urban nature over the term of the plan. A larger copy of
the map is attached to this report. Rather, it depicts the City’s preference for land use at such
time as it changes from what land use it is today. For some parcels, the change may take
many years more than the time horizon of the BCP. Should owners want to continue to
maintain current land uses the BCP does not require a change in use.
The City’s encourages undeveloped lands to remain undeveloped until such time as they can
be annexed and developed at urban densities. Low density rural or suburban development
typically relies on onsite water and sewer which have negative impacts on the environment.
At such time as urban services become available, the process of redeveloping low density
rural or suburban development is usually controversial and expensive. Keeping land in
agricultural production provides land stewardship, food production, and maintenance of open
lands. The City has various policies to support a continuing and economically viable
agriculture industry in the area.
5. That residential areas provide healthy surroundings for family life;
Residential areas which provide healthy surroundings are protected in the plan by policies
requiring adequate mitigation of development impacts, provision of public and private
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utilities, provision of parks and trails, protection of the natural environment, and a broad
view of community health. Substantially isolating residences from services is not considered
supportive of healthy surroundings as it can increase health hazards, such as asthma from
poor air quality caused by excessive vehicle use. The BCP calls for adequate development
review and community maintenance to address and mitigate hazards. The City uses several
tools including building codes and permits, subdivision review, zoning, and others to protect
public health, safety, and welfare; including but not limited to providing healthy
surroundings for residential areas. A diverse range of housing is encouraged and supported to
meet the wide range of housing needs in the community.
6. The growth of the community be commensurate with and promotive of the efficient and
economical use of public funds.
The BCP describes a compact future growth pattern which maximizes the value from
previous public expenditures and reduces future expenditures. Distance is one of the largest
impacts on cost of delivery of services. A compact and land efficient development pattern
provides benefits to many users from each installed unit of capacity. This applies both to
capital and operational costs. Coordination of greenfield and infill development with
adequacy of public utilities and services maximizes public and private benefits.
The various topic plans and BCP seek to maximize the efficiency of transportation and
utility investments by encouraging a compact development pattern that supports a multi-
modal transportation approach which spreads demand over longer periods and provides
travel alternatives which are less costly. Maintaining the high existing quality of life also
supports this criterion by encouraging community reinvestment and renewal which maintains
a pleasant environment and constrains demand for public services.
APPENDIX A - COORDINATION WITH GALLATIN COUNTY AND OTHERS
The City works to coordinate planning with Gallatin County. There is not a shared planning
board for the Bozeman Community Plan area at this time. The City and Gallatin County do
both participate in the Planning Coordinating Committee (PCC). The PCC was established in
2016 to be a forum for consideration of land use policy and other matters of shared concerns
between its participants.
The PCC has recommended to the PCC member governing bodies a policy plan for the area
called the Triangle which is roughly between Bozeman, Belgrade, and Four Corners. This
plan completed development and an adoption draft has been recommended for approval by
the PCC to the three jurisdictions. The formal public review and adoption process by
Belgrade and Gallatin County is ongoing. Bozeman has already accepted the plan.
The overall vision of the document is below. This vision correlates well with the themes,
goals, and map included in the Bozeman Community Plan that is the subject of this report.
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“3.1 Triangle Plan Vision
Regional coordination creates and maintains a coherent land use pattern that supports the
needs of existing and future citizens and the desire to protect community character and
amenities. Cooperation between jurisdictions supports development patterns that do not
compromise the ability of municipalities to grow in the future or expand necessary
infrastructure.
Belgrade, Bozeman and Gallatin County will coordinate land use in the Triangle to
achieve:
• Compact, contiguous development and infill to achieve an efficient use of land
and infrastructure, reducing sprawl and preserving open space, agricultural lands,
wildlife habitat, and water resources;
• Well-planned transportation systems, consistent with the overall growth
management vision, support the development of multi-modal and public
transportation networks;
• Community centers that have adequate transportation, utility, health, educational
and recreational facilities. Residential areas that provide healthy surroundings;
and
• Opportunities for agriculture, industry and business, while minimizing conflict
between adjacent land uses.”
The City also collaborates with various agencies in preparing the various topic plans
identified in Appendix B of the BCP. Collaboration occurs through mutual aid agreements
for emergency services, shared services such as the Health Department and 911, and other
formal and informal means. An infrastructure plan as outlined in 76-1-601(4)(C), MCA is
also included as Appendix E and addresses coordination with other agencies.
Gallatin County and the City of Belgrade have been contacted at various points during the
development of this growth policy. Most recently, they have been provided links to all
documents elements and invited to offer comments and suggestions on the draft document.
APPENDIX B – NOTICING AND PUBLIC COMMENT
The notice of the July 21, 2020 public hearing was published in the Legal Ads section of the
Bozeman Daily Chronicle on 07/05/2020, 07/12/2020 and 07/19/2020. A news item was also
published through the City’s website directing people to the new plan draft and review
schedule.
Public comment has been solicited in many forms throughout the public process from 2016-
2020. Multiple public hearings were held to consider drafts of the document. Each hearing was
given public notice in excess of what is required by law. Appendix A describes the various
means used to communicate with the community. Comments have come in through many
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means. Written comments submitted outside of public events have been aggregated to the
City’s Laserfiche electronic document archive. This has made them available to the Board and
any other interested person throughout the planning process. Comments were also received
verbally at the many public meetings held by the Planning Board. These comments are
included in the recordings of each meeting. Comments were considered as they came in as the
Board developed the goals, objectives, future land use map, and all other elements of the BCP.
At their June 16, 2020 public meeting, the Planning Board considered various edits and public
comments to date. At the conclusion of the meeting the Planning Board directed preparation
of a revised document draft for public hearing and recommendation to the City Commission.
A number of public comments were received this spring in connection with a privately initiated
growth policy map amendment. Those comments blended thoughts on the specific application
as well as the larger growth policy update. To ensure the public has its full opportunity to
participate in the development of this growth policy those comments have been provided with
the packet for the July 21st public hearing. In addition, public comments were received
regarding the future land use map after the June 16th meeting. All written comments not
previously considered by the Planning Board are included in the packet for the July 21st public
hearing. Any additional comments, should they be received, will be provided to the Planning
Board.
APPENDIX C - REVIEWING STAFF
Applicant: City of Bozeman, PO Box 1230 Bozeman MT 59771
Report By: Chris Saunders, AICP, Community Development Manager
FISCAL EFFECTS
No funds have been budgeted at this time for implementation of the plan. Creation and review of
the new growth policy was funded by the City Commission from long range planning funds over
several fiscal years. Expenditures for the growth policy are within the budgeted funds.
ATTACHMENTS
The full application and file of record can be viewed at the Community Development Department
at 20 E. Olive Street, Bozeman, MT 59715.
Proposed growth policy main text
Proposed growth policy supporting appendices
Proposed future land use map
Table showing where each required element has been met in the growth policy
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Growth policy update context map
Public comments received after June 16, 2020 public meeting and to date
Suggested plan revisions from members of the Planning Board received after the June 16,
2020 Planning Board meeting