Wed Sep 18 17:11:00 UTC 2024: ## Bozeman City Commission Debates Future of Unified Development Code

Bozeman, MT – The city commission is back in the process of rewriting the Unified Development Code (UDC), a crucial document governing zoning, development, and land use within the city. After a heated public debate last year, the commission paused the process in October 2023, opting to revisit the UDC with a renewed focus on public engagement.

This week’s commission meeting, while calmer than previous discussions, still spanned over four hours with extensive deliberation on public input strategies and specific proposals within the UDC draft.

One contentious issue revolves around the proposed combination of four lowest-density residential zoning districts into one district, R-A, which would encompass 42% of the city. While the original draft sparked significant controversy, the commission is now considering a modified proposal that would exclude the most dense of these districts, R-3, from the R-A consolidation.

The debate on this proposal is highly polarized, with commissioners like Terry Cunningham, Jennifer Madgic, and Douglas Fischer advocating for the modified version to avoid revisiting the contentious R-A debate. Conversely, Deputy Mayor Joey Morrison and Commissioner Emma Bode believe the city should stick with the original draft to remain consistent with the promised re-engagement process.

The commission also grappled with how to best engage the public in the UDC revisions, emphasizing a need to reach beyond homeowners and engage with renters, who constitute 55% of Bozeman residents.

The next six months will see the commission actively seeking public input through various methods like webinars and city board engagement. The revised UDC is expected to be put to a vote sometime in fall 2025.

Mayor Cunningham emphasized the importance of understanding the code’s impact on residents, stating, “The unified development code doesn’t sound like something the average person wants to dig into, but they might be really concerned about whether or not they can live in this community after graduation, or whether or not their position in their lab is going to get filled by a qualified person who can come to this community.”

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