Downtown Bozeman Board Meeting – April 15, 2026
Downtown Bozeman Board Meeting – April 15, 2026
The Downtown Bozeman board met on April 15, 2026, to approve prior meeting minutes, receive updates on a downtown parking vision plan, and hear two presentations: one from Montana State University's strategic planning team and another on proposed updates to the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) design guidelines. Board members provided feedback during both presentations, and no votes were taken on the substantive topics.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The board approved the minutes from the February and March 2026 meetings by a unanimous roll-call vote (Eric Nelson, Susan Neybauer, Elena Angelin, Randy Schooling, Mark Kiki – all in favor).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Parking Vision Plan Update: Board member Ellie reported that a downtown parking survey received over 1,400 completed responses, all verified as non-spam. She noted that over 80% of respondents are weekly users of downtown parking facilities. The data will be reviewed with a core team in early May, after which the key insights and vision plan will be brought to the board and other city boards for feedback.
- MSU Strategic Plan Presentation: Consultant Kate Sutherland, hired by MSU President Tessman's office, presented the process for developing a new university strategic plan. She explained that input has been gathered from on-campus groups since January and that the effort is now moving into the broader Gallatin Valley and around the state. Board members shared their priorities: Mark Kiki emphasized workforce development across all skill levels, including Gallatin College; Andy (board member) highlighted the need for programs serving private schools and special education; Elena Angelin raised healthcare workforce and criminal justice programs; a restaurant owner (likely Randy Schooling) asked for better collaboration between Gallatin College and local businesses; Eric Nelson stressed retaining graduates as future Montanans and addressing housing affordability. Ellie added that MSU should take responsibility for housing impacts, noting the gap between student population growth and on-campus housing. Board members also discussed improving internship platforms like Hire-A-Bobcat and using accurate housing data to aid recruitment.
- NCOD Design Guidelines Update: Aaron George, Community Development Director, introduced consultants from The Lakota Group who are updating the downtown design guidelines (last updated in 2006/2015). The consultants asked board members about their experience with the Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) process and preferences for new construction. Eric Nelson advocated for clarity and certainty in guidelines and process, noting that the current system works well in the downtown core but may be less effective elsewhere. Susan Neybauer supported preserving historic character while allowing new architecture. Mark Kiki favored maintaining human scale and contextual design. Randy Schooling emphasized flexibility and the evolution of buildings over time. Elena Angelin stressed the importance of preserving historic authenticity. Andy reported positive experiences with the COA process when working with an architect. The consultants noted the large size of the NCOD and the need for a tiered approach to accommodate different contexts.
Key Outcomes
- The board unanimously approved the minutes from the February and March 2026 meetings.
- No other formal decisions or votes were taken; the presentations served as listening sessions for board input.
Meeting Transcript
Emily are the speakers on. Yeah, great. They're on. All right. Are there any disclosures from the morning? Changes to the agenda. I have none. Approval at the minute. We have the February meeting, March meeting minutes that we approved our fiscal year 27 working budget. We're looking for a motion in a second, and we'll do a vote. I move I move to approve the minutes from last meeting. Okay. Second. Great. And I'll do a vote. Eric Nelson. Hi. Susan Neybauer. Elena Angelin. Hi. Randy Schooling. Hi. Mark Kiki. Hi. Great. Thank you. Public comments. If you are in the room or online and would like to make public comment, please use the raise your hand feature or step up to the podium. We have no public comment. First up, we will have, she's not here quite yet, but we'll have Kate Sutherland who is with the MSU strategic plan team, and she is just kind of hitting different groups throughout the community. So she wanted to um take advantage of our meeting today while she is in town and get input from the board and kind of give an overview of the timeline. Ellie's been serving on the strategic plan team for MSU and Ellie, I don't know if you want to give any kind of background just while we wait until Kate's here. Yeah, and you know, I'll I'll let her get to this because she's the professional. But uh yes, I've been sitting on this. It's going to be a process that goes through the summer and early into fall. The plan is for them to write it in the early fall and present it to Board of Regents in November at the end of November. So that's the plan and their timeline. They have made their way through a lot of meetings and time of on campus. And this was with intention. They're attacking um on campus groups first, everyone from staff to faculty to students to graduate students and beyond, I can tell you. And um, and then they will do a lot of their sessions with uh community leaders to luncheons, uh, you know, breakfasts and also tabling at local events. And the target really is to get into the community through this summer and early into that fall time period. The committee is not writing this plan. Uh we are simply listening and and being there to to support Kate and her facilitating, and um and then she will compile compile all these key insights and so much data that she is getting together. She has a team um in the on the East Coast doing a lot of data compiling for her, and then she will come back and present that to um the president and his other kind of leadership team up there, and they will write it. So the plan is we are not writing this plan, we are we're supporting the efforts, and then they will go back and have professionals on campus actually rewrite the strategic plan that will be presented. So it's been pretty awesome to be a part of it. You know, I I did I should have maybe mentioned this during changes to the check the agenda. I had thought uh Emily was gonna have an E an EDD report, but since we had presentations, I assume you know we wouldn't have time. Just a quick uh parking update, because I know that's always a hot topic, and we have been working on this parking vision plan.
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