The City has made the necessary forms available through its web site. The City's applications are modular and most applications require both the Development Review Application and one or more checklist attachments. The forms do change from time to time so it is always best to get a fresh form each time. Applications are due to the City each Wednesday by 5 pm.

Certificates of Appropriateness apply within the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District and the Entryway Overlay District. These districts are shown in the colored shading on the linked maps. If you are located within these areas you may still develop or remodel your property but some special standards apply. The main focus of the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District is historic preservation. The main focus of the Entryway Overlay District is creating a pleasant entrance into the community.

Zoning regulations create the three-dimensional building envelope and set basic site layout standards. But by their nature these regulations cannot be site specific - instead, they establish general regulations for every parcel within a particular district. Site plan review allows a community to look at the specific location of the use or structure; the layout of the site, including pedestrian and auto circulation... It drills down through the intent of the zoning regulations to the level of a specific parcel. Site plan review allows both quantitative and qualitative assessment based on standards, principles, and guidelines... The end result of the process is the implementation of community design and development policies, which have been tailored to fit the realities of a site. Site plan review also creates a forum where technical planning issues can be resolved. (Zoning Practice 11/2007, American Planning Association)

Periodic assessment of progress is an essential part of good planning. The City obtained an experienced third party, Clarion Associates, in order to identify areas of planning success and areas for further improvement. The City is committed to constant improvement and wants to have its policies and documents be effective and useable for all members of our community.

The Bozeman Community Plan web page.

The City Commission adopted a new growth policy titled the Bozeman Community Plan on June 1, 2009. The Bozeman 2020 Community Plan is wholly replaced with this new document. The growth policy provides overall guidance on community priorities and development policies.

The Department of Planning and Community Development in conjunction with the Planning Board will be sponsoring numerous outreach events. Dates, times, and descriptions of individual events will be posted on the main Planning web page. The City also does presentations to interested groups on any planning related topic the group may be interested in. Letters are always welcome and appointments may be made directly with staff if you wish meet in person. Comments may be sent to planning@bozeman.net

1. Protect the public health and safety and advance the well being of the community at large, while respecting and protecting the interests of individuals within the community.
2. Provide a supportive framework for private action which balances the rights and responsibilities of many persons.
3. Facilitate the democratic development of the public policies and regulations that guide the community.
4. Improve the physical environment of the community as a setting for human activities, more functional, beautiful, healthful, and efficient.
5. Coordinate technical knowledge, political will, and long-range thinking in community development in both short and long term decisions.
6. Identifies the citizen's goals and priorities for their community and how they wish to carry out those ideals.
7. Encourage efficiency and effectiveness by government through coordinated policies and programs.
8. Serves as a reference bench mark for community priorities, physical attributes such as size, and social and economic information such as housing and jobs. A growth policy is an abstract of a community.
9. Support economic development by providing basic information about the community to prospective citizens and employers. A well done, and implemented, plan shows that a community is actively trying to improve their area.