The Community Development Board met on October 19, 2026, to review two special presentations affecting Bozeman's future growth and water management, though the board took no formal votes as neither item was scheduled for action.
Northwest Bozeman Area Plan
Chris Naumann of Sambaa presented a draft area plan for approximately 3,000 acres northwest of the city limits—an area already within the city's planning boundary for decades. The plan, directed by the City Commission, aims to provide long-range guidance as the city builds infrastructure, particularly a sanitary sewer lift station to serve the region.
The framework identifies five key planning elements: natural resources (creeks, irrigation ditches, wetlands, riparian areas, and slopes over 25%), public infrastructure (sewer, water, stormwater, and transportation), active transportation networks, future land uses, and potential development. The plan proposes shifting some commercial mixed-use nodes compared to the 2017 Transportation Master Plan and relocating residential mixed-use corridors to better align with anticipated infrastructure.
Key considerations included minimizing impacts to natural features such as Baxter Creek and large wetland complexes. The plan proposes alternative street alignments to reduce environmental damage compared to previous plans that simply followed quarter-section lines. Naumann emphasized this remains a high-level, 50,000-foot planning document that does not regulate zoning, initiate annexations, or set development densities; it will be adopted as a supplement to the 2025 Community Plan.
Board members raised questions about neighborhood character, future population capacity, and coordination with the state highway corridor study. Residents from Laurel Glen and neighboring areas provided public comment expressing concerns about wildlife corridors, park and community facility planning, road feasibility near wetlands, traffic impacts on existing roads like Durston, and whether community input had been adequately solicited. The plan is scheduled for a public hearing before the board on November 16 and City Commission consideration for adoption on December 15.
Water Rights Cash-in-Lieu Fee Update
Utilities Director Sean Coates introduced Todd Gaston and Adam Jokers of Westwater Research to present an analysis updating the city's cash-in-lieu water rights fee, unchanged since 2008 at $6,000 per acre-foot.
Westwater used three valuation perspectives to develop a recommended fee range of $11,600 to $14,500 per acre-foot of reliable yield, with a midpoint of $13,000. The three approaches were full cost recovery (adjusted for inflation and cost of capital), fair market value based on regional water transactions ($9,000–$15,000 per acre-foot in the Gallatin Valley), and cost of developing new water supplies. The recommended fee would result in approximately $3,000 per single-family home, representing about 0.4 percent of Bozeman's 2025 median home price—still considerably lower than peer cities' average of 1.6 percent.
The fee applies to the city's standard consumption rate of 0.234 acre-feet per household per year, though condominiums and multifamily units would pay proportionally less. Gaston emphasized the fee is based on reliable yield (water available in 49 of 50 water years) and excludes infrastructure costs, which are covered through impact fees.
Board members inquired about the basis for the consumption standard, drought resilience given changing climate conditions, phasing in the increase, and whether administrative and consultant costs for converting agricultural water rights to municipal use are captured. Coates noted that most conversion-related costs are built into the recommended market-value range but that staff oversight costs are not fully captured. He indicated the city is updating its Integrated Water Resources Plan, looking 50 years ahead, and that a Water Advisory Committee will prioritize water supply options among 41 identified alternatives, with recommendations expected in early December.
Chair Ben Lloyd suggested the board might recommend phasing in the fee increase over several years rather than a single jump. The fee update requires City Commission action and was not voted on by the board at this meeting.