The Bozeman City Commission met on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Commission Room at City Hall. The meeting included approval of minutes, consent agenda items, a mayoral proclamation, and a lengthy work session on potential text amendments to the Unified Development Code (UDC) regarding maximum building height in the B-3 zoning district and zone edge transitions. The commission discussed board recommendations, heard extensive public comment, and provided direction for further staff work.
Good evening and welcome to the uh Tuesday, August twenty-fifth meeting of the Bozeman City Commission. Um we're glad that you're here with us today, uh either in person or joining us online, or those that are watching for posterity. Uh we will I'm gonna walk through just a few rules about how to participate this evening as well as give some updates on um one of the items that we have this evening. Um for anyone that wants to give public comment in the room, we will designate very clearly the opportunities to do so and start with public comment in the room. Um then we will move to public comment online for folks that are using um our streaming feature that has raise your hand at the bottom of the screen. Um, and then there's the more passive options to be able to follow along, cable channel one ninety, calling in, or through just the city's video page. Um that does not allow you to give public comment, but you can still follow along. Um any public comments that were submitted prior to noon today, um related to any items in front of us this evening was distributed for our review. Um and if at any point during this meeting, um anyone here um has any needs to be able to participate, um please let us know. Um, and our deputy clerk, Mr. Newbie will ensure that you are accommodated and want everybody to be able to be able to participate. Um quick uh piece for our one action item this evening. Um we will be splitting it into basically two separate items, um, so that public comment can be more focused on each of the respective items rather than B three and zone edge transitions, there will be B three discussion questions, public comment recommendation, then the same for for zone edge transitions, just for um folks' clarity. Um this evening. Um without further ado, uh, we'll call this meeting to order and begin with a pledge of aligen Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence if you could join us in standing if you were able to do that. Okay, moving on to changes to the agenda. City manager, there are any changes. Meeting minutes from it says May, but the correct month is April. So we'll include that in the motion to approve. Thank you. Great. And the attached memo is is the minutes from April 21st. That is correct. Thank you. Okay, moving on to FYI. Any FYI from the Commission this evening. Yeah, Deputy Mayor. I have two. One of them is rather tragic. We it is fall and like clockwork, bears are coming out of the woods and uh having dinner and breakfast and snacks in our city garbage. Because we don't have we are one of the few towns that lives kind of in bear country or in bear country without bear resistant um garbage pails or requirement for that. And I'm just um, you know, we get reports throughout at least uh, you know, my neighborhood South Bose, you know, uh the Bozeman Creek neighborhood, the Philigans edition neighborhood scan um, you know, um a lot of neighborhoods, I guess uh east of 11th are are just regularly hit with with um with bears. It's unhealthy for the bears and it's dangerous for our residents. And um I would hope as a commission, as a community, we could come up with some sort of a solution before next fall rolls around. That's mine. The second thing um it's just a reflection on on last week's meeting, Mayor. You were you were missing here, but but I just wanted to reflect for for the public for us that that um I I was really proud of of the tough discussions we were able to have. And that I just wanted to just um you know emphasize our underscore, you know, it's my belief that I I just I want the public to know every commissioner is here because we care about the city and and this community and the people in our community. And and we all bring different approaches to our to our work. Um but when we focus on that on that same thing on the people of Bozeman on a vibrant city, I believe we can do marvelous things. And so I think that's the key to everything else. I think we kind of showed that last week, and I was just proud of that. Um that's it. Thank you. Any further FYI? Yeah, Commissioner Bowdy. Um I I don't want to speak out of turn here, but um in the deep appendices of last commission's meeting, I do think that I saw that bear proof compost bins are no extra charge compared to a normal compost bin. But I would appreciate if staff could confirm that that was true before you know we we project that to folks and the newly adopted assessments. Um I did see a difference in charge between a garbage can bin that is not bear proof and a garbage bin that is. And I I was kind of excited about this approach as um the compost waste is the stuff that's the smelliest and kind of getting that separated out and in a bearproof container seems like a good direction, but I'm looking forward to continuing to have that conversation and I appreciate the deputy mayor bringing it up.