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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-18-20 City Commission Packet Materials - SP1. Community Plan Transmittal1 REPORT TO: Mayor and City Commission FROM: Chris Saunders, Community Development Manager Martin Matsen, Director of Community Development SUBJECT: Transmittal of Bozeman Community Plan update draft document as recommended by the Planning Board and introduction to public review process. STRATEGIC PLAN: 4.1 Informed Conversation on Growth Continue developing an in-depth understanding of how Bozeman is growing and changing and proactively address change in a balanced and coordinated manner. a) Adopt a New Growth Policy Based on Sustainable Growth Principles - Direct and guide sustainable growth through appropriate planning, annexation, land use, and a streamlined development review process. MEETING DATE: August 18, 2020 AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Special Presentation RECOMMENDATION: Receive the transmittal and a presentation on the document. BACKGROUND: Title 76 Chapter 1 of state law authorizes the creation of a Planning Board to advise the City Commission regarding the growth and development of the community. Part 6 of Chapter 1 describes the process and required contents of a growth policy. Growth policies are also commonly referred to as comprehensive plans or master plans for a community. The City of Bozeman’s first growth policy was adopted in 1958 with six subsequent revisions; the most recent was adopted in 2009. The growth policy currently is titled the Bozeman Community Plan. The City of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley have experienced sustained growth for many years. State law requires the periodic review, and when necessary, update to a communities growth policy. The City Commission reviewed the 2009 Bozeman Community Plan in 2015 and adopted Resolution 4578 determined that the document was adequate but directing an update to the growth policy to begin in fiscal year 2016. The City began the update process by hiring Economic and Planning Systems (EPS) to conduct demographic and economic data gathering and analysis. EPS began their work in May 2017 and concluded with a final report in January 2018. The growth policy update process continued with the selection of LoganSimpson to assist the City in drafting the new document. LoganSimpson began their work in May of 2018. Through a four step process community concerns and priorities were identified, goals for the plan identified, and a draft Commission Memorandum 295 2 document assembled. LoganSimpson concluded their work in June 2020. The City’s staff have since been continuing the project. The Bozeman Planning Board has conducted several public hearings and dozens of public meetings during the development of the draft document. Appendix A of the growth policy includes a summary of the public engagement for the update. The text of the document and the future land use map evolved during the drafting process in response to public comment and Board discussion. The unanticipated pandemic affected the ability to complete the review process and required rescheduling of some meetings. Due to the pandemic, the formal public hearings on the draft document held in the spring and summer of 2020 were all held using electronic meetings. On July 21st, the Planning Board considered the draft document, including the future land use map, and recommended adoption of the document to the City Commission. A revised document incorporating Planning Board directed changes to the draft has been prepared. The document is available to the City Commission and public through the City’s website at https://www.bozeman.net/city-projects/bozeman-community-plan-update. What comes next? The City Commission will be presented a Resolution of Intent at their August 25th meeting. This resolution must be adopted to set a public hearing schedule for the City Commission to consider the growth policy update. The City will conduct public outreach and education during the month of September to help the community become familiar with the document as recommended by the Planning Board. Public hearings by the City Commission on the draft document will begin in October. There is no fixed timeframe within which the City Commission must act to approve, amend, or reject the document. Why does the City plan? 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 citizen participation in development of the public policies and regulations that guide the community. 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 and is responsive to changing needs. 296 3 Substantive changes to the growth policy in the new update 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 a Strategic Plans and several additional topic 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. 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 many years or decades 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. 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. UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None determined at this time. ALTERNATIVES: 1) None identified at this time. FISCAL EFFECTS: None Attachments: none 297 4 Report compiled on August 6, 2020 298