The Bozeman Brief

The Transportation Board held an abbreviated February 25th, 2026 meeting without a quorum, focusing primarily on staff updates from Director Nick Ross. Key project announcements included the North 27th Street project bidding on March 4th, upcoming street maintenance contracts with significant pedestrian safety improvements totaling around $200,000 on Babcock and North 15th Streets, and progress on...

The Bozeman City Commission held a hearing on February 24, 2026, to consider an appeal of a conditional approval for the Sundance Springs Commercial Lot 2 development. Staff presented findings that the site plan complies with current 2025 code standards, though lighting requirements for residentially adjacent properties need adjustment before final approval. Key disputes centered on whether a 1997...

The Bozeman Community Development Board held its third meeting on February 23, 2026, focusing on board training for reviewing zone map amendments and appeals of administrative decisions. The board approved minutes from the February 2 meeting and voted to cancel the March 16 spring break meeting due to lack of pending business. The bulk of the session consisted of comprehensive training led by Chri...

The Tax Increment Finance Advisory Board met on February 19, 2026, to discuss the Light Conversion USA improvement project and the Midtown district budget. The board reviewed a TIF assistance request from Light Conversion USA (formerly Altos Photonics) for approximately $543,000 to cover demolition costs, public infrastructure improvements including alley and sidewalk work, and water and sewer con...

The Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board held a meeting on February 18, 2026, featuring a special presentation by the Lakota Group on updates to the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) guidelines. The presentation covered the firm's approach to revising design guidelines through community engagement, emphasizing best practices in historic preservation that balance economic de...

The Bozeman City Study Commission held its February 18, 2026 meeting to advance work on proposed charter amendments. The commission approved a revised timeline for charter development, pushing final approval to late August to avoid the busy Fourth of July period while maintaining the August 10 deadline for ballot language submission to the county election office. The group also voted to issue a re...

The Bozeman Downtown Business Improvement District Board discussed their fiscal 2027 budget, proposing a 5% increase to $295,000 in assessment revenue to cover operational costs including an 8% increase in the management fee for the Downtown Partnership due to staffing changes and cost of living adjustments. The board approved moving forward with the budget framework and scheduled a final vote for...

The Gallatin Valley MPO Technical Advisory Committee approved the revised Long Range Transportation Plan vision, goals, and objectives document in their February meeting. The revised document, which will be forwarded to the Transportation Policy Coordinating Committee, reflects feedback from both the technical committee and policy-level staff, including separation of system preservation and resili...

The Bozeman City Commission held its February 10, 2026 meeting to review the annual comprehensive financial report for fiscal year 2025 and consider an annexation and zone map amendment. Controller Aaron Funk and audit partner Jeanine Hathcock presented a clean audit opinion with unmodified findings across all financial statements and federal compliance testing, noting the city's net position incr...

The Bozeman City Commission approved moving forward with a professional services agreement to develop the Gooch Hill area plan, a sub-area planning study for a large section of the western valley that would be served by a new sanitary sewer lift station. The commission authorized consultant Sandbell Rocky Mountain to conduct community engagement and develop the plan, which will examine how to bala...

The Community Development Board held its February 2, 2026 meeting with an agenda focused on annual ethics training. Chair Ben Lloyd welcomed board members and explained the board's role as a seven-member citizen advisory body that makes recommendations on land use and regulations to the City Commission. Staff presented five ethics scenarios covering conflicts of interest, disclosure requirements,...

The Bozeman Transportation Board held their January 28, 2026 meeting, where they approved minutes from their previous session and heard Director Nick Ross present updates on several major initiatives. The board moved the Administrative Review Board selection to February due to insufficient attendance and received a comprehensive 2025 ethics training focused on conflicts of interest, financial disc...

The GVMPO Transportation Policy Advisory Committee held its January 28, 2026 meeting to advance the Long Range Transportation Plan update, focusing on draft vision statements and goals through 2050. After addressing organizational matters including tabling the chair and vice chair nominations until February, the committee engaged in detailed workshop discussions on five proposed goals: safe and se...

The Community Development Board met on January 26, 2026, to review a zoning and annexation application for the Story Mill Road property owned by Bridger Creek Golf Course. The board unanimously approved recommending R1 zoning (which will convert to RA under the new code) for the 1.173-acre parcel, allowing the golf course to continue operations and provide employee facilities after annexation into...

Mayor Cunningham's final meeting of 2025 featured the city commission's final adoption of the new Unified Development Code after reversing course on downtown building heights. The commission also approved an annexation near Story Mill Park on a former Superfund site, made appointments to six advisory boards, and received the 2025 Climate Plan impact report.