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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-26 - Economic Vitality Board - Agendas & Packet MaterialsA. Call to Order - 6:00 PM B. Disclosures C. Changes to the Agenda D. Public Comments on Non-agenda Items Falling within the Purview and Jurisdiction of the Board THE ECONOMIC VITALITY BOARD OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA EVB AGENDA Wednesday, April 1, 2026 General information about the Economic Vitality Board is available in our Laserfiche repository. If you are interested in commenting in writing on items on the agenda please send an email to comments@bozeman.net or by visiting the Public Comment Page prior to 12:00pm on the day of the meeting. At the direction of the City Commission, anonymous public comments are not distributed to the Board or staff. Public comments will also be accepted in-person and through Video Conference during the appropriate agenda items. As always, the meeting will be streamed through the Commission's video page and available in the City on cable channel 190. For more information please contact Brit Fontenot, bfontenot@bozeman.net This meeting will be held both in-person and also using an online videoconferencing system. You can join this meeting: Via Video Conference: Click the Register link, enter the required information, and click submit. Click Join Now to enter the meeting. Via Phone: This is for listening only if you cannot watch the stream, channel 190, or attend in- person United States Toll +1 253 205 0468 Access code: 984 4147 6350 This is the time to comment on any non-agenda matter falling within the scope of the Economic Vitality Board. There will also be time in conjunction with each agenda item for public comment relating to that item but you may only speak once per topic. Please note, the Board cannot take action on any item which does not appear on the agenda. All persons addressing the Board shall speak in a civil and courteous manner and members of the audience shall be respectful of others. Please state your name, and state whether you are a resident of the city or a property owner within the city in an audible tone of voice for the record and limit your comments to three minutes. General public comments to the Board can be found in their Laserfiche repository folder. 1 E. FYI/Discussion E.1 Discussion on updates proposed to Ordinance 2025-001, the Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO)(Guyer/Fontenot) F. Adjournment This board generally meets the first Wednesday of the month from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. City Board meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability and require assistance, please contact the ADA Coordinator, David Arnado, at 406.582.3232. 2 Memorandum REPORT TO:Economic Vitality Board FROM:Brian Guyer and Brit Fontenot SUBJECT:Discussion on updates proposed to Ordinance 2025-001, the Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO) MEETING DATE:April 1, 2026 AGENDA ITEM TYPE:Ordinance RECOMMENDATION:None. STRATEGIC PLAN:4.5 Housing and Transportation Choices: Vigorously encourage, through a wide variety of actions, the development of sustainable and lasting housing options for underserved individuals and families and improve mobility options that accommodate all travel modes. BACKGROUND:See attached memorandum. UNRESOLVED ISSUES:None at this time. ALTERNATIVES:None proposed. FISCAL EFFECTS:Undetermined. Attachments: 4.1.2026 EV Board Memo AHO updates.pdf Report compiled on: March 26, 2026 3 1 Memorandum REPORT TO: Economic Vitality Board FROM: Brit Fontenot Brian Guyer SUBJECT: Discussion on updates proposed to Ordinance 2025-001, the Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO) MEETING DATE: April 1, 2026 BACKGROUND: The City Commission finally adopted Ordinance 2025-001 on February 11, 2025. Since that adoption and implementation, market and other conditions have changed, and staff continues to refine the provisions of the Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO). The updates identified in this memorandum are reflective of the evolution of this ordinance as we work to address the rapidly shifting variables in the community housing equation. PURPOSE AND GOAL: The purpose of this memorandum is to outline proposed updates to the City of Bozeman’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, Ordinance 2025-001, for discussion by the Economic Vitality Board (EV Board). These updates are intended to improve clarity, flexibility, and alignment with current market conditions, state legislation, and federal housing programs, while continuing to advance the City’s affordable housing goals. The purpose and goal of this discussion with the EV board is to introduce updates to the Affordable Housing Ordinance and inform the Board of the steps involved with achieving that goal as part of the EV Boards 2026 - 2027 Workplan. SUMMARY OF PROPOSED UPDATES: 1. Addition of a “For Sale” Housing Provision The current Affordable Housing Ordinance incentivizes long-term affordable rental housing. Long-term affordable home ownership requires dramatically different stewardship paradigms. In addition, the approach and methods for calculating Cash-in-Lieu (CIL) for for-sale affordable homes are different than those used for rental housing. Staff plans to return to the Commission with policy options related to affordable for-sale housing within the calendar year. 2. Update to Cash-in-Lieu (CIL) Provision - COMPLETE On March 3, 2026, the City Commission approved a CIL amount for the payment of cash, in lieu of actually constructing an affordable unit. CIL has many advantages for the city in obtaining and stewarding long-term affordable housing. CIL provides a source of funds that can leverage other public and private sources to create more units of affordable housing than could be provided in a particular project. In addition, these funds do not come with the significant long-term stewardship costs and may allow the CIL funds to be invested in projects with more efficient long-term stewardship structures. 4 2 As outlined in Sec. 38.380.060. of the AHO, the following apply to payment of cash-in lieu: • For each affordable dwelling required by 38.380.020, but not provided, the cash-in-lieu amount will be established based on a per dwelling price adopted by resolution of the commission. • The per dwelling amount must be based on the difference between the average new construction rental rate for apartments in the city and the established affordable rental rate calculated over the course of 20 years. • The cash-in-lieu amount must be determined on the number, type of dwellings, and mix of bedrooms identified as affordable in the affordable housing plan and proposed to be constructed. • Cash-in-lieu payments must be paid prior to issuance of a building permit for any dwelling in the development. Affordability gap calculation and resulting CIL per unit required: 3. Alignment of the AHO provisions with LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) Rules Staff proposes the creation of a separate “track” for LIHTC projects to align with the guidelines and regulations for tax compliance. 4. Updates to Type B Incentives (Parking Provision) October 2026 will see major changes to statewide parking requirements. Essentially there will be no required parking minimums for affordable housing projects, assisted living facilities and homes under 1200 square feet, thus rendering the AHO parking incentive ineffective. Current strategy includes retaining Type B incentives in the AHO in the event of future legislative changes to parking guidelines but knowing that they will not be utilized after October 2026 unless the legislature reverses course on parking minimums. We are currently considering alternative incentives to spur creation of affordable housing opportunities. For example, staff are working with the City of Bozeman’s Water Conservation Specialist regarding potential changes to landscaping requirements. 5. Establishment of a Predictable Ordinance Update Process Next steps include: • Introduction of proposed AHO ordinance changes to the EV Board (April 1, 2026) • Draft ordinance with assistance of legal (April-June) 5 3 • Work session with Community Development Board (Date TBD) • Draft ordinance to the Economic Vitality Board (Action required, date TBD) • Draft ordinance to Community Development Board (Action required, date TBD) • Draft ordinance to City Commission (Action required, date TBD) Link to the March 3, 2026, Cash in Lieu packet material https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/bozeman/a82200687db4cb8e599f76611adbfe440.pdf Link to the March 3, 2026, Cash in Lieu City Commission Hearing https://bozeman.granicus.com/player/clip/2668?view_id=1&redirect=true Hearing starts at 51:50 Link to the complete Affordable Housing Ordinance (2025-001) https://library.municode.com/mt/bozeman/ordinances/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=1345286 Report compiled on: March 26, 2026. 6