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