Downtown Urban Renewal District Board Meeting - July 14, 2026
Downtown Urban Renewal District Board Meeting - July 14, 2026
The Downtown Urban Renewal District (URD) Board held a meeting on July 14, 2026, at 6:45 PM. The meeting covered a decision on a plat amendment for the Calico Industrial Park, a special presentation on the Downtown Parking Vision Plan, approval of bylaw amendments, and an executive director's report. All votes were unanimous.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: Minutes from the previous meeting were approved by roll call (John, Amy, Nicholas, Sky, Marley all in favor).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were received, either in person or online, for any agenda item.
Discussion Items
- Calico Industrial Park Plat Amendment (Regular Agenda Item 11): Chloe Bonson (County Planning) presented a request from Scott Lowry (Middle Fork Engineering) on behalf of JA Ventures to amend Lot 3 of the Calico Industrial Park Major Subdivision (78 Wildcat Way). The amendment proposes to abandon a portion of an existing utility easement originally established for a septic system serving Lot 1, which was disconnected in 2015. The easement is no longer needed. The application was noticed twice in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (June 27 and July 7, 2026) and mailed to adjacent property owners. No public comments were received. The Health Department noted a concern about wastewater permitting for a second commercial unit. Staff found the amendment complies with subdivision regulations. Commissioner commentary noted the frustration of incremental development and infrastructure lag but acknowledged the proposal fits property rights and the letter of the law. The motion passed 3–0.
- Downtown Parking Vision Plan (Special Presentation): McLaren (Indigo West) presented findings from a parking study commissioned by the city and the URD. Key data points included:
- Occupancy Data (Jan–June 2026): Average occupancy rates in city parking lots at 1 PM weekdays; Black and South Wilson lots show highest rates.
- Visitor Data (Placer AI): 1.3 million U.S. visitors experienced downtown Bozeman in 2025. 11% were from the greater Bozeman area (including Belgrade, Livingston, etc.). Overall visitation is down from 2021 but up 8% vs. 2019. Out-of-state visitors increased 22% since 2019; Montana visitors decreased 20%. Downtown visitation from Bozeman and surrounding communities has been stagnant despite area population growth (Bozeman +14%, surround +17% from 2019–2024).
- Overtime Citations (2025): $50,000 in fines collected. Bozeman residents (zip codes 59715 and 59718) account for 7% of total visitors but 44% of overtime citations. Out-of-state visitors: 74% of visitors but only 29% of citations. Safety citations (1,480 total) also disproportionately given to locals.
- Survey Results: 1,310 respondents (convenience sample). 74% visit/work/live downtown daily or weekly. 90% live within 15 miles. 51% of downtown employees report significant issues finding legal parking. 77% said adding parking spots is important. 41% avoid downtown at times because parking takes too long. 74% find traffic patterns challenging. 45% worry about receiving citations. 15% are unsure where they can legally park. Only 25% have a positive overall parking experience.
- Stakeholder Interviews: 17 one-on-one interviews revealed parking concerns vary by block and user type. Employee parking is the top priority.
- Proposed Solutions: Short-term: public education campaign (FAQ, wayfinding, addressing misperceptions), explore free top-level parking in garage for employees, subsidized or shared-use programs. Long-term: expand parking supply, explore paid parking on surface lots or other revenue models. Commissioner John stressed the need to explicitly include parking supply expansion as a goal, noting $5 million already set aside. Discussion also covered the possibility of paid on-street parking and capitalizing on visitor spending.
Key Outcomes
- Plat Amendment Vote: Motion to approve the amendment of Lot 3 of Calico Industrial Park (abandonment of utility easement) passed 3–0.
- Bylaw Amendment Vote: Motion to approve amendments to the Downtown URD bylaws (changing board size from 7 to 9 to include county and state members, and aligning with SB 3 and high-performing boards resolution) passed unanimously by roll call (Amy, Nicholas, Sky, Marley all in favor). The amendment will go to the City Commission for final approval.
- Next Steps: The Parking Vision Plan and public education campaign are targeted for completion in fall 2026. The URD Board will hold a discussion on building height regulations (B3 district) at its August 25, 2026 meeting, with staff presentation by Aaron George. The URD is also moving forward with a Special Assessment Lighting District (SALD) to maintain pedestrian lights after the URD sunsets, and is collaborating on an ADA playground at Wilson School.
Meeting Transcript
Applicant to rebuild um Love Lane to standard just in front of their property or to build a trail that isn't connected to other trails. And on the other hand, when we see this incremental development, we are often left in kind of a challenging position where our infrastructure network doesn't keep up with the cumulative development impacts. Um that's just a constant frustration that we have and it's unsatisfying, I think, to the public, and it's I just want the public to know it's unsatisfying to us as well. Um, but nonetheless, uh, I think this proposal fits squarely within the um applicant's property rights and uh meets the letter of the law. So I'll I'll vote yes on the motion. Anything else? All right, we'll call the question. All in favor of the motion, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion passes three to zero. All right, moving on to regular agenda item number eleven discussion and decision on a request to amend Calico Industrial Park final plat in the four corner zoning district. Still mourning for the moment. Good morning, Chloe. Good morning. Um Chloe Bonson with County Planning. I would like to enter my staff report into the record. Um on June 8th of 2026, Scott Lowry of Middle Fork Cott Middle Fork Engineering, on behalf of JA Ventures applied for the Gallatin County Planning Department for an amendment of lot three of the Calico Industrial Park Major Subdivision. The application is requesting to amend lot three um to abandon a portion of the existing utility easement on that lot. The ban is proposed to accommodate for the construction of a can a second commercial office and shop building in the area, which is currently encumbered by the easement. Um the property is located um within the Calico Industrial Major Park subdivision in the northeast quarter section eighteen, township to South Range Five East. Um within Gallatin County, generally located on 78 Wildcat Way. Um Calico Industrial Major Subdivision received final plot in 2006. The utility easement was on lot three, was originally established to serve a drain field and septic tank associated with the building on lot one to the north. In 2015, the building lot one was disconnected from the shared system, and a new individual septic system was installed for lot one specifically. As a result, the utility easement on lot three is no longer um needed for its original purpose. Uh the application was noticed within the Bozeman Daily Chronicle for June 27th and July 7th. Notices were made mailed via certified mail adjacent property owners on June 17th of 2026. We received no public comments. I did route it over to the health department, which they provided uh a bit of feedback. Um with them having one concern, uh, that if the second commercial unit is constructed prior to the installation of um permit number 29 ten as the existing unit would no longer have a valid wastewater system. Um otherwise the other departments, including environmental quality and the Clerken Record well, environmental quality didn't have any concerns. Clerk and recorder had some language change that was done to the plat itself. Staff findings that the proposed amendment complies with the design standards of the subdivision regulations. The proposed amendment keeps its 20-foot utility easement, which was required along the front of the property line and removes the non-required easement include that includes the uh old subject system. So that is all I have. Awesome. Questions for staff. Thank you, Chloe. Is there an applicant presentation on this one? Commissioners, Mike Lapp with Meridian Land Surveying. Uh I'm simply here to answer any questions. We had prepared the amended plat through Scott Lowry and assisted him with the application. Um so I I think uh the only thing I would add to the county's presentation is uh they need to do it. And I frankly, it's been really hard over the last even year or two to even think about prioritizing solutions or you know where do we start? Yes, how do we do this? Everybody has what what is what is the plan? Yeah, this direction we needed to be really clear on who is doing what. So that's I mean, that's I guess my remote. Yeah.
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