HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-26 Public Comment - L. Taylor - Support for an interim zoning ordinance during NCOD updateFrom:Leslie Taylor
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Support for an interim zoning ordinance during NCOD update
Date:Saturday, March 21, 2026 8:09:44 AM
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Dear City Commission:
I strongly urge the City Commission adopt an interim zoning ordinance. This approach would provide a much-
needed pause to the on-going developer driven decisions of the City allowing multiple high-rise apartment buildings
and condos in the downtown core. These buildings are not providing benefit to the community. They are not
contributing anything to the need for affordable housing. And they are mostly ugly concrete boxes which are
changing Bozeman in a negative way. A pause in allowing approval of more of these ugly, unneeded buildings will
allow for an update of the historic overlay rules which have served the city well for decades.
My own home on North Bozeman Avenue, built in 2015 in compliance with the historic guidelines and designed to
fit into the community, is a good example of what this approach can accomplish. In coordination with city staff, I
built a craftsman style duplex on a lot which had never been built on. No structures had to be demolished and I
added two dwellings to the downtown area. My property received an award from the city for best in-fill
development in 2015.
Recently, several hundred residents both from within and outside of the NCOD participated in a basic survey
organized by the Inter-Neighborhood Council (INC) to gauge interest in enacting an Interim Zoning Ordinance
(IZO). 428 residents responded to the survey, with 83% supporting that the City Commission consider an IZO for
one year while NCOD guidelines are updated.
A local government may adopt an IZO as “an urgency measure to regulate or prohibit uses that may conflict with a
zoning proposal that the governing body is considering." NCOD guidelines are about to undergo an overhaul. I
support the City Commission adopting an IZO to temporarily prohibit demolitions and new large developments (e.g.
over 30,000 sq ft) within the NCOD until the update is complete and until the City is able to hire a new Historic
Preservation Officer.
Thank you for your consideration,
Leslie Taylor