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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOB-CommissionPriorities-2024-2026-FINAL2024-2026 FINAL REPORT CITY COMMISSIONPRIORITIES Every two years, Bozeman City Commission meets to discuss the priorities process, a list of goals that the elected body directs city staff to complete within a two-year time frame. All goals are important projects that impact our community and are unique activities that staff perform within the designated timeframe. For the 2024-2026 priority cycle, Bozeman City Commission has chosen the following priorities: About the Priorities Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 1 An Engaged Community •Foster and build public trust, support, and pride in local government. Safe, Welcoming Community •Develop a Tenants Right to Counsel Program. •Develop a comprehensive regional strategy on homelessness. •Implement at least 8 recommendations from the Belonging in Bozeman Plan. A Well-Planned City •Rework and restore a new Historic Preservation Policy - including trees and landmarks. •Encourage the creation of ADUs in our city through an ADU Incentive Program. •Create an Affordable Housing Preservation Policy. •Ramp up the SAFE Plan and become a Gold-level Bike Friendly Community. Sustainable Environment •Create a Bozeman Creek Resiliency Plan. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 2 An Engaged Community Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 3 Goal: Foster and build public trust, support, and pride in local government 2025 was a record year for engaging with the community. Community members had more interactions with their elected officials than in prior years as members of the Commission attended engagement events, hosted monthly coffee events, organized regular walks with the public, attended a community chat with the disability community, and helped to educate the public on the WARD initiative. All of this face-to-face interaction helped to build bridges and understanding with city officials outside of the 3 minutes at the podium. Create opportunities for neighborhoods and community-wide outreach events involving City Commissioners. 1. 1.Outreach involving City Commissioners 2.Utilize engagment plans 3.Communicate achievements Utilize engagement plans around all major initiatives and ensure broad representation. 2. Communicate achievements through FYI at Commission.3. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 4 Chuck provided regular staff achievements and important updates during FYI segments at City Commission, further helping to spread awareness of city work. Retirements, promotions, awards, events, stories, and numerous other updates were all shared publicly, helping to further positivity and trust in staff work. We also had record levels of participation in engagement projects, with more people participating in local government than ever before. We had engagement plans for all engagement projects, with some being discussed heavily during Commission meetings, leading to greater transparency even before projects began. We engaged with unique and diverse perspectives, bringing key stakeholder groups deeper into our work. Our Commission meetings are active events, and we see regular updates on city happenings in the media because people feel connected to our work and feel they have a voice. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 5 Safe, Welcoming Community Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 6 Goal: Develop a Tenants Right to Counsel Program. Tenants‘ Right to Counsel was adopted by the City Commission on December 2, 2025. Final read of the ordinance is on December 16, 2025. Next steps include drafting RFPs for legal services, mediation, and a consultant to help develop the education program. The budget was discussed during the meeting as well – we have savings to start the program, and the City Commission will allocate further funding during the budget conversation. 1.R&D 2.Review Research, analyze and develop program options.1. Funding and program option discussion at Commission pending positive legal review. 2. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 7 Since its inception, the City has been an active participant in the Regional Housing Coalition, working with other partners to address homelessness in a community-wide approach. The Coalition has completed the Regional Houselessness Strategy. We will continue to work proactively with these partners. Goal: Develop a comprehensive regional strategy on homelessness. 1.Collaborate with RHC 2.Adapt? Collaborate with Regional Housing Coalition to develop a plan. 1. Potential plan adoption. 2. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 8 Goal: Implement at least 8 recommendations from the Belonging in Bozeman Plan. 1.Create position 2.ADA 3.Diability Liaisons 4.Interdepartmental committee and update charter 5.External Partners 6.6.Housing Housing 7.Develop tools8.Interpretation Services Create a new Belonging in Bozeman Coordinator staff position and dedicated budget.1.Create a full-time position to serve as ADA Coordinator.2. 3.Hire a part-time Disability Community Liaison and full-time Bozeman PD Community Liaison. 4.Reconvene the Belonging in Bozeman interdepartmental committee and update its charter. 5.Continue to convene external partners to implement Belonging in Bozeman Plan.6.Support partner organizations by funding transitional and emergency housing programs. 7.Develop an equity impacts decision-making tools and train boards, staff, Commission on its use. 8.Implement on-demand interpretation services and train frontline staff on using it. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 9 A Belonging & Engagement Coordinator position is currently set to close in January, with potential hiring in February. We also have an associated budget for the Belonging in Bozeman Plan that has been approved. We will see more action on the Belonging in Bozeman Plan following the hiring of staff, including the reconvening of the Belonging in Bozeman interdepartmental committee and update of its charter, reconvening of external partners, and the development of an equity impacts decision-making tool/training of boards, staff, and Commission. An ADA Coordinator is currently unscheduled. Hiring for the Disability Community Liaison is anticipated to start in Q1 after the Belonging & Engagement Coordinator starts; BPD Community Liaison is scheduled to be posted before the end of 2025 with hiring in early 2026. Even without staff, we have accomplished some goals/ recommendations. City Commission has supported partner organizations with funding for transitional and emergency housing programs, and staff have implemented an on- demand interpretation service and trained frontline staff on its use. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 10 A Well- Planned City Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 11 Goal: Rework and restore a new Historic Preservation Policy – including trees and landmarks. Revise the existing Historic Preservation Policy and create a Local Landmark Program. 1. Analyze City’s authority in declaring trees on private property as Landmark Trees. 2. Include options in Urban Foresty Management Plan.3. 1.Revise policy and create programming 3.MGMT Plan 2.Trees 1. Revise the existing Historic Preservation Policy and create a Local Landmark Program. Status: 60% complete. The timeline for this project had to be lengthened due to the UDC update. Following an RFP process, Community Planning Collaborative (CPC) was selected to assist the City with this project. City Commission approved the Professional Service Agreement in October 2023. The project was divided into two phases: Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 12 • Phase 1 focused on research throughout 2024 and community engagement during summer 2024 using a variety of in-person and digital methods. CPC then compiled the Phase 1 Recommendations Report, which outlines a series of key recommendations to strengthen and modernize the historic preservation program. Key recommendations include the creation of a local landmark nomination process, revising code sections relating to the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) process, and updating the NCOD Design Guidelines. The Phase 1 report was shared with the public and advisory boards before ultimately being adopted by City Commission on May 13, 2025. • Phase 2 for the project is underway. The consultant (CPC) and staff are working on drafting code amendments to implement the Phase 1 report recommendations. The draft code changes will be shared with the public and advisory boards for discussion and input in early through mid-2026. We plan to share the code draft in chunks by topic to help focus the review and discussion. HPAB will receive a project update at its January meeting. • NCOD Design Guidelines – Given the extent of changes needed to this document, and that expertise is needed from an experienced historic preservation architect, we hired a separate firm (The Lakota Group) to complete this work, also through a competitive recruitment process. City Commission approved the Professional Service Agreement on October 28, 2025. Lakota has started getting up-to-speed on all things Bozeman, and we will be providing a project update for this effort also at HPAB’s January meeting. An engagement plan for the Design Guidelines project is in the works and will be shared with HPAB and City Commission for adoption in early 2026. Our hope is to get both the Phase 2 Landmark code amendments and the Design Guidelines updated and adopted by the end of 2026. 2.Analyze City’s authority in declaring trees on private property as Landmark Trees. Staff and our consultants have conducted research on this topic, which was referenced in the Landmark Project phase 1 report mentioned above. It’s important to note that designating tree(s) Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 13 on private property as landmark trees requires property owner permission and thus must be a voluntary nomination. For this reason, “trees and natural landscapes” will be included as an option for landmark nomination, with the proviso that they meet criteria related to historic or cultural significance. We have heard from some residents a desire for protection of trees on private property in a more general sense (perhaps related to size or species, rather than historic or cultural significance). As discussed with City Commission in the summer UDC work sessions, this topic will be discussed as part of the Urban Forestry Management Plan update referenced in (3) below. Regulating trees on private property would likely require hiring additional Forestry staff to review and enforce such regulations. If that is ultimately the Commission’s desire, a separate code amendment following adoption of the UFMP could incorporate tree regulations at that time to allow for necessary budget and personnel adjustments first. The FY27-28 biennial budget process kicks off in January 2026. 3.Include options in Urban Forestry Management Plan. Timeline: Q1-Q4 2026 Community Development staff met with Parks and Forestry staff on 2/27/25 to discuss this topic. Since then, the Parks Department has commenced the procurement process for consultant selection for their Urban Forestry Management Plan. Staff in both departments will continue to coordinate on the topic of trees, as also described in (2) above. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 14 Goal: Encourage the creation of ADUs in our city through an ADU Incentive Program. 1.Analysis 2. Implement Policy Produce a market analysis of ADUs in Bozeman to inform decisions.1. Discuss and implement policy around ADU incentives.2. 1.Produce a market analysis of ADUs in Bozeman to inform decisions. Due to staff resources needing to focus on the UDC update throughout 2025, and economist EPS (under an on-call contract with Economic Development) focused their time on growth projections for the Land Use Plan update and the annual Bozeman Market Report for 2025, this work has not yet occurred. We are interested in hearing the new City Commission’s discussion of priorities to determine if this work is still seen as a priority going forward. If so, EPS would likely be utilized to prepare this analysis. In the meantime, a couple of bits of information on the issue of ADUs: • 132 ADUs received permits in Bozeman from 2018 through November 2025. Note this is not all ADUs in existence, just the more recently built ones. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 15 Produce a market analysis of ADUs in Bozeman to inform decisions. • Of those, 36 were permitted in 2025 and 32 in 2024. • Based on these numbers, it’s clear that ADUs are being built in Bozeman, so staff is not convinced there is any regulatory barrier. • In general, construction costs (labor & materials) are high in Bozeman, which is the primary barrier our customers reference. Additionally, adequate space on lots and utility issues often present challenges. • For reference, the cost of construction for houses and ADUs in Bozeman (which is beyond our control) is around $450/square foot. • At this time, 59 ADUs in Bozeman are currently being rented as short-term rentals, which also calls into question how much permanent housing ADUs are truly providing. 2.Discuss and implement policy around ADU incentives. Following completion of the market analysis referenced above, CD staff will share the information and discuss options with City Commission. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 16 Goal: Create an Affordable Housing Preservation Policy. 1.Identify opportunities 2.Policy Identify opportunities for affordable housing preservation (mobile home parks, etc.). 1. Explore an affordable housing preservation policy.2. No progress has been made on this priority. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 17 Goal: Ramp up the SAFE Plan and become a Gold-level Bike Friendly Community. 1.Bike Safety 2.Education Program 3.Gold Continue work to improve bike safety throughout the community.1. Establish a community-wide education program for bike/ped safety. 2. Resubmit for Gold-level status.3. City staff completed an updated application to the Bicycle Friendly Community program this summer and expect a response in January 2026. Our application captured significant investments in bicycle infrastructure and safety improvements that the city has completed since our last designation as a Silver-level community. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 18 Sustainable Environment Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 19 Goal: Create a Bozeman Creek Resiliency Plan. 1.Create charter 2.Analysis 3.Engagement 4. Engieering Study 5.Interactive study Create a project charter.1.Perform an analysis of Bozeman Creek’s ability to handle a 100-year flood.2. 3.Engage with community and educate around successes cleaning the creek.4.Conduct an engineering study of creek meander, braiding and re-routing options based on the results of the 100-year study. 5.Conduct a study to identify ar- eas where public interaction with Bozeman Creek can be en- hanced through future parkland development. 6.Explore funding opportunities for potential improvements and changes. 6.Explore funding Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 20 The Bozeman Creek Vision Plan is currently underway, with Resolution 5626 approving a formal Community Engagement Plan adopted on December 9th, 2025, following a Special Presentation before the City Commission on October 7th. Consultant selection is in process following a Request for Proposals issued in November. A selection committee consisting of Mitch Overton (representing parks & trails), Brian Heaston (representing flooding & water quality), Emily Kiely (representing communications), Ellie Staley (representing downtown & economic vitality), Steve Noble (representing SeeBozemanCreek) and Jon Henderson (representing city administration) met on December 18th to score 7 proposals. A phone interview with the highest scoring firm is scheduled for December 23rd to clarify expectations related to the firm’s involvement with SeeBozemanCreek before finalizing the scope of work, with contract approval tentatively scheduled for January 27th. The Bozeman Creek Vision Plan will provide a valuable tool in support of the following goals: »Enhance flood mitigation efforts »Improve water quality »Increase access and connectivity to parks & trails »Support economic development opportunities »Strengthen community connection to a vital resource This effort builds on previous work such as the 2012 Bozeman Creek Enhancement Plan, the 2020 Bozeman Creek Analysis Technical Assistance Grant Report, the 2023 Gallatin Valley Sensitive Lands Protection Plan, and the 2025 Bozeman Creek Flood Mitigation and Reclamation Preliminary Engineering Report. The local grassroots organization SeeBozemanCreek has led significant efforts over the past two years to solicit public interest surrounding this topic. The City intends to coordinate extensively with this group to further community input as a model for how local government can leverage the strength of partnerships to collaborate towards shared goals with a wide range of constituents. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 21 The following outline provides a summary of next steps: • January: Finalize scope of work, approve contract for consultant services, schedule community engagement • February – March: Begin community engagement by meeting with the public, citizen advisory boards, and external partners to develop an overall vision for Bozeman Creek, in addition to reviewing local code requirements and case studies from other communities • June – August: Summarize engagement activities and develop a draft plan with concept designs, including project and policy recommendations and long-term sustainable funding strategies • September – October: Work with internal and external partners, including SeeBozemanCreek and citizen advisory boards, to develop a formal recommendation • November: Conduct hearing with the City Commission in consideration of a formal Resolution adopting the final plan While every effort will be made to build on the City’s intent to mitigate flood hazards, it is important to note that specific issues surrounding conveyances, such as the tunnels beneath Main Street, will require commitments beyond the scope of the Bozeman Creek Vision Plan. Funding for this effort has been allocated in the FY26 approved budget as a three-way split between the Parks Maintenance District, the Stormwater Fund, and the Public Works Administration Fund for a total of $150,000. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 22 The Bozeman Creek Vision Plan may be approved as part of the City’s land use plan and will be evaluated according to the Montana Land Use Planning Act as needed. Additional information can be found on the City’s Engage Bozeman website, where citizens can subscribe to regular updates. Bozeman City Commission Two-Year Priorities List 23