Bozeman City Commission Meeting: April 14, 2026
Bozeman City Commission Meeting: April 14, 2026
The Bozeman City Commission met on April 14, 2026, for a regular meeting that included updates on city projects, a special presentation on municipal court operations, and a lengthy work session on traffic safety. The meeting began with approval of the consent agenda, followed by public comments on a range of topics, and concluded with appointments and a commitment to further discuss traffic safety funding and strategies.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (4-0) items G1 through G4, including a water renovation project that came in significantly under engineer estimates.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Matt Standal (local journalist) urged the commission to increase police enforcement of traffic laws following a recent serious accident involving a teenager.
- Nikki Bailey (resident) criticized street safety for cyclists, calling Bozeman the worst city she has lived in for biking, and demanded immediate action.
- Patrick Moore (Valley Unit Neighborhood Association steering committee) expressed dismay that the commission declined to discuss the Inner Neighborhood Council's recommendation for an interim zoning ordinance (IZO), stating the refusal erodes public trust.
- Tessa Whitmer (type 2 short-term rental owner) requested a legacy class for existing permitted short-term rentals in RA zones, noting that the city's written guidance incorrectly stated no changes would occur. The city manager acknowledged the issue and promised a text amendment to allow those operators to continue.
- Mary Bateson and Daniel Cardi (residents) both urged adoption of an interim zoning ordinance within the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) to pause large demolitions and new developments of 20,000+ square feet until the NCOD update is complete.
- Gracie Caldwell (Campus Climate Coalition MSU president) highlighted climate week events, including a panel on women in climate action and a guided hike.
- Audrey (age 7) expressed fear about crossing streets and suggested making crossing signs red.
- Courtney Johnson (resident, planning professional, mother) proposed a post-approval safety review for developments near schools and parks, a better near-miss reporting system, and a formal response to a 2024 resolution of intent regarding parking and safety.
- Gloria Overcash (mother and teacher) read an update from the mother of a boy critically injured on Babcock Street, urging the community to drive attentively.
- Kenyon (child) said he cannot bike to his best friend because he must cross Babcock Street.
- Noah Brown (resident) advocated for road diets, lower speed limits, no right on red, and a simpler process for neighborhood traffic calming.
- Lynn Paul (resident, cyclist) asked for safety improvements on Valor Road during construction of the Fowler Avenue project and praised rapid flashing beacons.
- Mark Eggy (resident) criticized the city for not funding safety improvements identified in the 2017 Transportation Master Plan, noting that the locations where recent crashes occurred were flagged years ago.
- Gene McGinnis (87-year-old resident, cyclist) encouraged safe biking and reminded that cyclists must obey traffic laws.
- Valerie Melton (school bus driver) reported seeing 4-5 vehicles running school bus red lights daily and advocated for police officers to ride buses.
- Michelle Piazza (resident) asked for standardization of intersection configurations and crosswalk signals, and noted speeding on Blackwood Avenue.
Discussion Items
- FYIs and Updates: Commissioner Sweeney announced the Lakota group is in town for engagement on the NCOD. Commissioner Bodie reported on the sustainability board meeting, including a ranked-choice vote on a poster contest, and a walk in Cooper Park. The city manager provided an update on the Fowler Avenue Housing Project consensus process, stating that no decisions have been made, staff are not pursuing four- or five-story development, and the focus is on below-market, for-sale ownership models with a maximum of three stories.
- Action Item J - Special Improvement Lighting District 796: The commission adopted a resolution creating a lighting district for West Aspen and Fifth Avenue, despite one protest that did not meet the threshold. The district funds electrical bills and maintenance for festival street string lights and park frontage lights. Commissioner Sweeney acknowledged the protester's concern about noise from street lighting.
- Special Presentation - Utilities Department: Director Sean Coates presented an overview of the department's seven divisions, highlighting stormwater management, water conservation (80% of per capita water use of arid west cities), water reclamation facility innovations (AI software, wetland pilot), and proactive leak detection on 3% of the system that saved 198,000 gallons of water.
- Special Presentation - State of the Courts: Chief Judge Caroline Turney reported on the municipal court's operations, including a significant increase in cases: first-quarter 2026 case numbers were 1,873, a 45% increase over the same quarter in 2025. Jury trials rose from 6 in FY24 to 17 in FY25, and interpreter minutes increased dramatically. The court requested an additional clerk position and noted that the Bridgers Treatment Court will require city funding by FY28. Judge Turney also discussed the court's role in addressing mental health and fitness-to-proceed issues.
- Work Session - Traffic Safety: Transportation Director Nick Ross and Police Chief Jim Veltkamp presented the city's Safe Streets for All plan, emphasizing the Safe Systems Approach and the four Ps: physical changes, policy, policing, and promotion. Key accomplishments include lowering speed limits on 11 miles of streets, revising the UDC to lower level of service standards, securing $30 million in federal grants, and re-implementing a traffic unit. Chief Veltkamp reported that traffic stops are on track to reach 4,000 in 2026, up from 4,700 in 2025. The discussion covered challenges such as state preemption (no red light cameras), low fines set by state law, and the need for more funding. Commissioners and public commenters urged faster action on identified safety projects, doubling the STR20 multimodal fund from $150,000 to $300,000 per year, and improving public data on bike/pedestrian gaps.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda and Lighting District: Approved unanimously.
- Appointment: Simon Rusinski appointed to the Transportation Board (unanimous).
- Traffic Safety Work Session: The commission expressed strong support for a second work session to further discuss traffic safety funding, strategies, and a long-term vision. Commissioners agreed to explore doubling the STR20 multimodal fund, improving public data dashboards, and considering speed limit reductions near Gallatin Regional Park. The city manager will work with staff to develop options for the next session.
- Short-Term Rental Update: The city manager committed to bringing a text amendment to allow existing type 2 STRs in RA zones to continue operating.
- Interim Zoning: The commission did not formally discuss the IZO request, but Commissioner Sweeney requested another commissioner to support putting it on a future agenda.
- Fowler Avenue Housing: The consensus process is continuing with phase two, and no final plan has been adopted.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to our April fourteenth City Commission meeting. Um we have a exciting agenda this afternoon, this evening. Um a reminder that all of our city commission meetings are open to the public. If you have a disability that requires assistance, we do ask that you you connect with our Deputy City Deputy City Clerk, Alex Newby, and we can get you situated. All of those instructions are available on our agenda and on our Commission website. Um as we start this meeting, I would like to let's start with a pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence or mindfulness. The first thing we do is see if there are any changes to the agenda. City manager. Mayor, there is one or Deputy Mayor, there's one uh change to the agenda uh with your concurrence. I would like to move uh action item or only action item of the night to directly after the consent agenda and before public comment to accommodate a uh unexpected staff members uh conflict tonight. Uh it would be very helpful if we could do that for him. We're happy to do that. So action item J, the resolution to create a special improvement lighting district will now move in front of item H public comment on non-agenda items. Next we uh need to authorize the absence of our our leader, uh Mayor Morrison and uh Commissioner Bowden. Yes, I can do that. Um I move to authorize the absence of Mayor Morrison. Second. Mr. Newby, would you poll us? Commissioner Bodie. Aye. Commissioner Magic. Uh Commissioner Sweeney. Aye. Deputy Mayor Fisher. Aye. He is excused. Next, we have FYIs. Any FYIs from the Commission? Commissioner Bo Commissioner Sweeney's excuse me. Thank you, uh, Deputy Mayor. So um I did just want to let everyone know, since we have a full room, the Lakota group is in town this week doing engagement on our neighborhood conservation overlay district. And you can engage with them tomorrow at the business improvement district meeting at noon. Um you can also engage with them tomorrow evening at the historic preservation advisory board meeting at 6 p.m. And um check out lots of information about the neighborhood conservation overlay on our Engage Bozeman webpage. Thank you, Commissioner Sweeney, Commissioner Buddy. Yes, I've got a couple of public um FYIs here. First, I just want to note that the sustainability board met last week and give you a quick summary here. Um we talked about the forest management plan and got a presentation um from our forestry department and had some really good conversations um, also including folks from Branch Out Bozeman and all of the work that they've been doing to plant trees all around town. So um we had a great discussion about that, a lot of public comments in support of trees and how we're kind of thinking about trees in both public places and private places. Um then we had I think what is possibly the first ever ranked choice vote of a um advisory board where our board members voted on the best poster design for um a fourth grade class submission for the Beyond Plastics poster, which will remind folks who walk into grocery stores to bring their own back. And we um, you know, we we followed Robert's rules. Don't worry, we did make a formal vote at the end. But based on the ranked choice vote, um, the Monfortin fourth grade class won the poster contest. So that was just very cool. Um engagement opportunity at the Sustainability Board. And then this past week, the deputy mayor and I went on a walk in Cooper Park with some Cooper Park neighbors. It wasn't a formal neighborhood association event, but there were maybe 15 or more folks there. We walked down seventh between Koch and Babcock and received a lot of feedback from from those neighbors. And I'm just wondering um if we might be able to incorporate some of the feedback that they provided into the neighborhood conservation overlay district guideline updates.
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