Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Bozeman public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
50 issues with high priority
Long Range Transportation Plan fiscally constrained project list
The valley's first long-range transportation plan sets goals, policies and investment priorities for roads, safety, sidewalks, bike routes and transit through 2050 across Bozeman, Belgrade, Four Corners and parts of Gallatin County. It was shaped by community surveys, workshops and input from over 900 candidate projects. The committee's recommendation starts a 30-day public review before the final adoption vote.
Draft FFY 2027-2031 Transportation Improvement Program
The five-year TIP directs about $170.9 million in federal, state and local funding to road, bridge and transit projects across the MPO area, including Belgrade Main Street and Bozeman's Kagy reconstruction. Comments are due October 20 and adoption is required by December 26.
First Long-Range Transportation Plan
The region's first Long-Range Transportation Plan — two years in the making — sets goals, a ranked project list, and policies like complete streets. It goes to a November 5 recommendation vote, then 30 days of public review before December 16 adoption.
Cattail Creek Corridor Park and Anchor Route Master Plan
A 3.25-mile connected parks-and-trails corridor from Cattail Lake to Bozeman Ponds serving 12,000+ residents within a quarter mile. Neighbors in Harvest Creek worried about turf removal, tall native grasses, weeds, fire risk and buffers; staff promised surgical changes, mowing protocols, and neighborhood workshops before final construction drawings. First-phase work funded with roughly $500,000 in cash-in-lieu park funds.
Bozeman-Belgrade regional coordination
The warming center line drops to about $345,700 a year — but that's because Gallatin County and Belgrade are now chipping in, so total regional funding is actually up and shelter days are expanding. Nonprofit leaders from Haven and Family Promise thanked the commission.
Pedestrian Safety Near the Pool
A boy on a bike was hit by a car near the pool and taken by ambulance; a rep flagged surging traffic near 300+ new units on north Church and asked again for traffic calming.
Police Equipment Contract
Bozeman’s City Commission approved a $2.4 million contract for new police cameras and evidence systems. The idea is to improve transparency on patrol, and it’s being paid for with local tax dollars.
Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program 2026 results
The city has formalized its citizen-initiated traffic calming program. Applications are open through March 6 for temporary and seasonal treatments on local streets, with screening based on crashes, speeds, volumes, and proximity to schools and parks. Arterials and collectors like Highland, Grand and South Third aren't eligible yet, but staff are working on that.
Northwest Bozeman Area Plan
A draft plan for 3,000 acres northwest of the city will guide future land uses, roads, trails, and natural resource protection as land annexes into Bozeman over decades. The public hearing before the board is November 16, and neighbors are already raising concerns about parks, wildlife, wetlands, and traffic.
Maximum Building Height in B-3 Downtown Zoning District
The City Commission recently kept the 90-foot downtown height limit intact after robust discussion, with unresolved questions about zone-edge transitions and stepbacks. Staff will return to the Commission with ground-level experience standards.
Police and Fire Radio Replacement
The city is buying new Motorola radios because the current police and fire fleet can no longer receive software updates — a quiet but important public-safety upgrade.
Bozeman Sports Park Phase 2 Change Order
The city accepted $1.43 million from School District 7 for the turf sports field across from Gallatin High — a partnership giving the school first use and the community off-hours access, plus neighborhood parking relief.
Regional behavioral health partnership
Bozeman and Belgrade leaders agree behavioral health is an unfunded state mandate straining police, fire, and the hospital. They discussed a joint agreement, a possible crisis stabilization facility (the former Skate Palace), mobile crisis response success, and eventually asking the state or voters for funding.
Writing PRAT Plan goals into the development code
The city is updating its Unified Development Code so new developments deliver better parks - trails instead of just sidewalk-edged grass, credit for protecting wetlands and trees, and possible changes to the density cap and 17-acres-per-1,000-residents standard. Expect public engagement, expert panels, and a recommendation to the city commission over roughly ten months.
Northwest Bozeman Area Plan
A 3,000-acre long-range vision plan for the northwest growth area, tied to the proposed Gooch Hill sewer lift station. Residents nearby worry about high-density housing, wildlife, pollution, and the Gooch Hill Road jog behind their homes. A public draft comes in October; adoption is targeted for December.
Cash In Lieu of Water Rights Fee Increase
The city is considering more than doubling the fee developers pay when they don't bring water rights with their projects — from $6,000 to about $13,050 per acre-foot. That adds roughly $3,000 to a new single-family home's cost and funds future water supply for growth.
Trail System Planning
Bozeman has approved a plan to add trails on the west side, linking parks and open space so residents can get around more easily on foot or bike. It’s a quality-of-life and connectivity win, though construction details and costs still need to play out.
Urban Renewal and Technology District budgets
The URD is proposing a study area expansion east along Olive toward Bozeman Creek, tied to potential projects including the federal building parking site and Bozeman Creek improvements. A resolution could go to the Commission by end of August.
Bozeman Creek vision plan
A 30-year vision to keep Bozeman Creek from flooding downtown, with up to a billion dollars in property at risk in a 100-year-plus event. The plan pairs Mill Ditch floodwater diversion with new creekside parks at Rouse Avenue, City Hall, and Bogert Park, and it heads to the City Commission on December 15.
Potential $40 million MDT federal funding gap
MDT may have to return roughly $40 million in federal redistribution funds because the state lacks matching dollars — about $4.5 million at a 13% match rate. Chair Chad Mozol floated the idea of local governments providing match to keep the money here.
Local Landmark Program development
The city is rewriting its historic preservation rules — covering demolition of older buildings, the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District, and Certificates of Alteration. Property owners in older neighborhoods could see changed requirements for altering or tearing down structures 50 years or older.
Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District Reorganization
The draft would relocate NCOD regulations to other parts of the Unified Development Code and update its language. NCOD rules affect what homeowners and developers can do in Bozeman's conservation districts.
Future of the NCOD and historic preservation program
The new Landmark Program would cover historic preservation outside the NCOD, but there's uncertainty about whether it will eventually replace the NCOD — Commissioner Sweeney will explain it at NENA's April 13 meeting.
Update of NCOD Design Standards
The update to the historic district's design guidelines is paused after the city lost its historic preservation planner and consultant. Staff plan to re-hire a consultant this fall and a new planner is being recruited.
Landmark historic preservation program update
Resident Roger Blank slammed the commission for rejecting an interim preservation code while 70-plus demolition permits stack up for older downtown homes, urging them to pass a preservation code before 'there's nothing left to preserve.'
Affordable housing ballot ask for 2027
The city commission is weighing a November 2027 ballot ask focused on housing, with possible additions like a West Side library, mental health crisis response and a fourth fire station. The board may be asked for input as ballot language takes shape in early 2027.
Kagy Boulevard/Sourdough Road intersection design
MDT is holding open houses on the Kagy/Sourdough intersection and the long highway corridor from Bear Canyon to Three Forks; a rep offered to attend and summarize for neighborhoods.
Community Ballot Issues Work Session
The Commission will hold an October 6 work session on possible ballot measures for November 2027 — ideas include a fourth fire station, an affordable housing levy, a west-side library, EMS, and mental health response. Fischer wants neighborhood input on what services are worth asking voters to fund.
Wetland and Watercourse Code Submittal Requirements Amendment
The city's new wetland rules require two outside-agency determinations that those agencies can no longer provide, which could leave development applications with no path to approval. Staff propose removing those two requirements while keeping local protections intact. The change heads to the Community Development Board and City Commission.
Gallatin High School Parking Management District
Neighbors east of Gallatin High School have spent two years pushing for a residential parking permit district after students overwhelmed their streets — blocking driveways, endangering kids, and creating near-misses at crosswalks. The board voted 4-0 to send the request to the City Commission, which makes the final call.
Integrated Water Resource Plan
The water plan advisory group has ranked its alternatives — beaver dam analogs and nature-based storage made tier one — and will hand the Commission a recommendation in November.
Regional Growth Coordination
Belgrade and Gallatin County split their joint planning area, the new MPO is drafting its first regional transportation plan, and the city is steering growth through sewer infrastructure investments, including the 3,000-acre Northwest Bozeman planning area.
Community Housing Work Session
The city will host a housing work session on August 4 to lay out a holistic picture of Bozeman's housing work — city programs, the Regional Housing Coalition, and partners like HRDC, Family Promise, and Haven doing emergency and transitional housing.
Ethics complaint against Bozeman commissioners dismissed
A resident's ethics complaint accusing the mayor and four commissioners of stonewalling her questions about public money going to HRDC was dismissed entirely. The board said it can't investigate records-request disputes or funding oversight — those belong to other city processes.
Urban Forest Management Plan Update
The final work session on the updated urban forest plan covered public comment themes: a heritage tree program, stronger protections for mature trees during development, and making the long document more readable. Final revisions are due November 12 and the plan goes to the City Commission on December 8.
2026 Urban Forest Management Plan
The final work session on the updated urban forest plan covered public comment themes: a heritage tree program, stronger protections for mature trees during development, and making the long document more readable. Final revisions are due November 12 and the plan goes to the City Commission on December 8.
Community Grant Program returns for FY27
The parks community grant program that funded eight local projects last cycle will return with $210,000, with applications opening in October and board approvals targeted for February 2026. A board member asked to revisit the grant evaluation process next month since new members weren't part of the original design.
Trail Infrastructure Approval
Bozeman just approved a new Cattail trail that links the west side of town. If you bike, walk, or just want an easier way to get around without driving, this is a small win. It’s a connectivity project, not a giant overhaul—but it makes the west side more accessible.
Kagy Boulevard Reconstruction Agreement
The biggest transportation project in city history just got faster: a design-build team plans to substantially finish the Kagy reconstruction in one season, with a three-month closure between 11th and 7th starting next May and a detour down 19th, Graf and South Third.
Emergency Shelter Funding for Haven MT and Family Promise
The city is chipping in with the county and Belgrade to keep domestic violence and family shelters running: $35,105 to Haven and $60,115 to Family Promise for FY27.
South Bozeman Technology District TIF extension
The city is issuing about $3.9M in bonds to reimburse the innovation campus developer for public infrastructure, extending the TIF district up to 25 years. Dozens of residents, mostly MSU students, objected, tying campus tenants like Reveal Technology to military technology and the Gaza war. Commissioners said the 2022 development agreement left them little choice but signaled future policy work on TIF ethics criteria.
FY2027 BID Budget and Assessment Rate
Flower baskets faded early this year thanks to heat, drought and aphids. Staff and Oak Gardens are planning more watering, faster removal of dead baskets and possibly a midsummer preventive spray next season. Year-to-date maintenance stats show slightly fewer trash and recycling pickups and notably more graffiti removal than last year.
FY27 Property Tax Mill Levies
The Commission adopted the annual stack of assessments: $295,000 for the downtown BID, $583,600 for lighting districts, and delinquent snow, weed, and utility charges — all billed through county property tax statements.
Hanson Lane Annexation Zoning
Nearly 10 acres north of Durston Road got its final R-B Residential Mixed-Use zoning, clearing the way for mixed residential development on the annexed Hanson Lane property.
Shady Glen development litigation and remand
A judge threw out the city's legal footing for denying the Shady Glen subdivision and sent it back for better explanations. The commission brought back the former decision-makers to explain their reasoning, but the developer's lawyers say the whole proceeding is unlawful and the case is still in court. What happens next could decide whether 16 homes — including two affordable units — ever get built near the East Gallatin River.
Demolition Regulations in the NCOD
Bozeman is rewriting the rules that govern tearing down older buildings — currently applying mainly inside the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District, and possibly soon to any structure 50+ years old citywide. The draft includes a two-part demolition stay, new documentation requirements, and expanded neighbor noticing. What gets decided shapes which older homes and buildings survive redevelopment.
Demolition regulations update
Board members and preservation advocates worry penalties are too weak for owners who demolish without permits or let historic buildings rot until they're unsafe. State law limits Bozeman's options, but staff may pursue a separate update to the public nuisance code.
North Park TIF Assistance Program criteria
The updated criteria will decide how developers in the North Park Urban Renewal District earn TIF dollars, rewarding value-adding jobs, density, mixed uses, and city-plan-aligned partnerships.
MSU Impact Fee Declining Balance Agreement
MSU is rewriting its strategic plan and asked neighborhoods directly for input. Reps pressed on the student housing crunch — MSU added ~3,600 students since 2010 but only ~1,000 housing units — plus dangerous crossings, bus frequency, and faculty pay. The plan launches in November and the survey stays open into August.
Public safety and unhoused individuals downtown
A board member reported a sharp uptick in unhoused people, including travelers, trying doors and camping near downtown buildings in the last 60 days, and asked whether HRDC incentives are drawing people to Bozeman. Meanwhile HRDC is offering de-escalation training for downtown staff, the parking garage bathrooms may reopen with URD help, and the BID is buying AEDs for the garage.