The Bozeman City Commission spent most of its August 4th meeting on housing strategy, approving consent items, reviewing community survey results, and directing staff toward multiple approaches to address an approximately $350,000 per-unit capital gap identified by the Regional Housing Coalition.
Consent Agenda and Community Survey Results
Consent 1, covering 15 items, passed 5-0. Among those were a contract connecting pedestrian and bicycle pathways near North 19th Avenue, Valley Center Road, and Flanders Mill Road—a project that will cost more than initially planned because the path route was shortened to avoid tree removal. Also approved was a planning contract for 5 acres of land acquired through the Turn Row subdivision agreement, designated for future affordable housing development. Consent 2, covering two items, passed 3-2, with Commissioners Alison Sweeney and Jennifer Madgic voting no.
The commission then heard results from the 2026 National Community Survey, conducted by Polco with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. The top-rated community aspects were parks and recreation, safety, and natural environment. The lowest-rated were economy, community design, and mobility. About 8 in 10 residents rated Bozeman positively as a place to live, and 7 in 10 plan to stay for the next five years. On affordability, the survey found low marks for housing availability, childcare costs, and overall cost of living—all below national benchmarks. A custom question about a potential bond and levy for a west-side fire station found 4 in 10 residents supported it, 3 in 10 opposed, and 3 in 10 wanted more information.
Housing Work Session: Data and Priorities
Community Housing Manager Brian Geyer framed the national context: one in three U.S. households now spends more than 30 percent of income on housing, the highest level ever recorded. In Bozeman, 38 percent of households are cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of income on housing, and 18 percent spend more than half their income on housing. Geyer presented data showing two average-wage earners still fall $374 short of affording the average one-bedroom rent of just under $2,000 per month. For homeownership, a combined income of $129,000 leaves a gap of $200,000 to reach the median home sales price of $726,000.
Geyer reported more than 370 affordable units added to Bozeman's inventory, with over 700 under construction and 557 in development. Since February, city Community Housing Fund dollars have helped house 42 previously unhoused families through partnerships with Family Promise and HRDC.
Mark Bond from One Valley Community Foundation reported that the 2026 Point-in-Time Count showed 394 people experiencing homelessness in Gallatin County, down from 523 the prior year—the first decrease since the pandemic. Bond attributed this to new affordable units coming online, expanded shelter capacity, CDBG-funded transitional housing grants, and coordination among service providers. Bond outlined the coalition's Bridging the Gap report, which identified a capital gap of approximately $350,000 per unit between construction costs and what median-income households can afford.
The report listed potential tools including housing levies, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, and voluntary fee programs modeled on Whitefish's 1% Sustainability Fund and Park County's Give Local pilot. Four of the identified tools would require state legislative change.
Commissioner Direction: Key Priorities
Commissioner Sweeney called for separating economic development from housing into distinct departments, exploring pre-approved building plans, and pursuing an adaptive reuse overlay similar to one Missoula recently adopted. She expressed reservations about expanding LIHTC, saying: "In a municipality where our only revenue stream is property taxes, I struggle with LIHTC development because they do not pay property taxes."
Deputy Mayor Douglas Fischer prioritized ensuring every public dollar becomes a permanent community asset and asked staff to explore revolving loan fund models. He expressed reservations about municipal property ownership, noting existing partners already manage housing. "I don't know what expertise the city brings to that," he said. "We already struggle to maintain streets, to repair pipes, build pools, build fire stations."
Commissioner Emma Bode supported continued use of LIHTC, exploration of revenue bonds, a tourism-focused tax over a broad sales tax, the voluntary fee concept, and pre-approved plans. She suggested allowing up to 12 units in RB zones as a density incentive tied to affordability requirements, with a potential unit size cap of around 1,000 square feet.
Commissioner Jennifer Madgic expressed support for pre-approved plans, the voluntary fee program, and pushing for state legislative tools including local option sales tax and bed tax reallocation. She called for streamlining the review process for affordable housing projects.
Mayor Joey Morrison emphasized that cities need to pursue a local option sales tax before the Montana Chamber of Commerce shapes that conversation without municipal input. He noted 13 to 14 million tourists pass through the state annually using infrastructure subsidized by residents. He supported maintaining LIHTC, revisiting the Affordable Housing Ordinance, and exploring pre-approved plans—though he noted the tool would need to apply to townhomes and rowhouses to address current gaps, not just single-family detached homes.
Pre-Approved Plans Research
Community Development Director Erin George presented research on pre-approved plan programs in South Bend, Indiana; Renton, Washington; and Seattle. South Bend built 91 units since 2022 at an estimated savings of $5,000 to $8,000 per unit. Renton's ADU program had 95 pre-screening meetings but only 3 built units. George estimated costs for a Bozeman program at roughly double the $115,000 South Bend spent in 2022, and said development would take at least a year. She cautioned that while pre-approved plans might generate aesthetic variation over time as residents modify homes, the regulatory aspect is not necessarily the primary barrier to housing construction—materials costs and site-specific concerns like utilities and siting are larger obstacles.
Board Ethics Appointment and CDBG Approval
The commission unanimously appointed Jim Drummond to the Board of Ethics with a term ending July 31st, 2028. The motion passed 5-0.
The commission unanimously approved the CDBG Program Year 3 Annual Action Plan. The motion passed 5-0. The plan allocates $355,712 in federal funds toward a water infrastructure project enabling 4 transitional housing units at Family Promise's Journey Home facility, eviction prevention through the tenants' right-to-counsel program, and community services expected to assist approximately 200 low- and moderate-income households. Geyer noted that transitional housing units turn over about 10 times per year, meaning the 4 units will serve roughly 40 families annually.
Next Steps
Staff will explore multiple housing tools and return with analysis on several items, including a future work session on the Baker-Tilly revenue bond memo. The commission gave staff direction to revisit the Affordable Housing Ordinance, investigate pre-approved building plans, explore new revenue sources aligned with tourism (bed tax, rental car tax), and coordinate with the Regional Housing Coalition and League of Cities and Towns on state legislative advocacy for a local option sales tax.