Memorandum
REPORT TO:
City Commission
FROM:
Shawn Kohtz, Utilities Director
Brian Heaston, Engineer III
Greg Sullivan, City Attorney
Kelley Rischke, Assistant City Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance 2026-## Provisional Adoption Creating a New Division of Chapter 40 of the Bozeman Municipal Code Related to Water Adequacy
MEETING DATE:
September 15, 2026
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider the Motion: I move to Provisionally Adopt the Ordinance creating a new division of chapter 40 of the Bozeman Municipal Code related to water adequacy.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
BACKGROUND:
In evaluating the best place in code to address the provision of water services to residents and the City's statutory authority to operate utilities, staff has determined regulatory provisions related to water adequacy are best located with other elements of the municipal code governing the City's water system. Water adequacy regulations are currently located in Chapter 38 of the Bozeman Municipal Code. Relocating the water adequacy provisions will improve operational efficiency and provide an easier user experience for those searching for regulations related to the provision of water services. Therefore, this Ordinance relocates the section of code related to water adequacy for development to Chapter 40 Utilities, creating a new Division 5 Water Adequacy.
No substantive changes to the code are proposed with this Ordinance. Code requirements related to water adequacy are unchanged, with only administrative edits made to clarify references to other sections of code and references to the Director of Utilities instead of the "review authority."
These water adequacy provisions will either be removed from Chapter 38 of the Bozeman Municipal Code or, where applicable, references regarding water adequacy will be made to Chapter 40 as part of the next Ordinance to generally clean up the Unified Development Code. A majority vote of the governing body would be required to make this kind of amendment to adopted zoning regulations, pursuant to Montana Code Annotated section 76-25-304(1)(b). Because the City Commission has not yet authorized the deletion of these provisions from Chapter 38 by a majority vote, this Ordinance only proposes to relocate the water adequacy provisions of Code to Chapter 40 and does not amend zoning regulations by deleting these provisions from Chapter 38.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES:
Staff will recommend removing the current water adequacy regulations from Chapter 38 and making reference to the regulations in Chapter 40 as necessary as part of the next Ordinance that addresses general clean up of the Unified Development Code. Upon a majority vote of the City Commission authorizing such amendments, staff will prepare an Ordinance that deletes the water adequacy provisions found in Bozeman Municipal Code section 38.410.110 from Chapter 38.
ALTERNATIVES:
Do not provisionally adopt the Ordinance and allow water adequacy provisions of code to remain in Chapter 38.
FISCAL EFFECTS:
None.