HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-01-21 Public Comment - Gallatin County - Floodplain Regulations UpdateGallatin County
Department of Planning & Community Development 311 W. Main, Rm. 108 Bozeman, MT 59715
Phone (406) 582-3130 Fax (406) 582-3135 planning@gallatin.mt.gov
February 1, 2021
Bozeman City Commission
121 N. Rouse
Bozeman, MT, 59715
Re: Update to City of Bozeman Floodplain Regulations
Dear Mayor Andrus and City Commissioners:
I write you today to recognize and commend the important work your staff has done to update and
improve the content of the City of Bozeman’s Floodplain Regulations. Mr. Heaston, Mr. Saunders, and I
worked collaboratively with representatives from Montana DNRC and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency for several months to overhaul our respective requirements for reviewing the
permitting proposed development in floodplain areas. This collaborative effort resulted in many benefits,
but I will just highlight two of them.
We have talked for a long time about the goal of harmonizing development standards in the City of
Bozeman and Gallatin County where possible. This is a worthwhile goal, but due to differing statutory
authorities, staff resource constraints, and other challenges, this goal is often difficult to achieve.
Through the Floodplain Regulation update we have essentially achieved this goal with one set of
development regulations. The regulations and requirements related to floodplain development will be
substantially the same in Gallatin County and the City of Bozeman moving forward.
The second benefit I will highlight are improvements to the content of the regulations. Both Gallatin
County and Bozeman’s current floodplain regulations are based on a model regulation from the 1990s.
That older model left a lot to be desired in terms of providing a document that the average citizen could
pick up and follow. While still including a large amount of technical content, information in the new
regulation is presented in a much more clear and intuitive manner that will benefit the ability of the public
and applicants to understand applicable regulatory requirements.
I urge the City Commission to support the work your staff has done by approving the updates the City of
Bozeman’s Floodplain Regulations.
Sincerely,
Sean O’Callaghan, AICP, CFM
Planning Director/Floodplain Administrator