Fowler Ave Community Housing

Thanks to everyone who joined us for Phase 2 of the consensus process. A report on what we learned is now available in the documents section of this project!

Phase II brought people with different relationships to the project together to learn from one another, understand differing perspectives, and identify the conditions necessary for a credible, workable, and trusted path forward. Participants moved beyond positions and increasingly focused on shared values, aspirations, concerns, and conditions for success.

Several major themes emerged:

• There is significant agreement regarding the purpose of the project: creating permanently affordable middle-income homeownership opportunities.
• The conversation started to center around durable, quality homes.
• Trust, transparency, and ongoing communication remain essential.
• Community members want to participate in shaping design alternatives and understanding tradeoffs.
• High-quality design, neighborhood integration, safety, affordability, and long-term community benefit matter deeply.
• Participants identified the need for a variety of housing options and livability features that respond to differing household needs and preferences.
• Staying local is a high priority for design exploration.

Participants also specifically recommended moving toward a consensus-based collaborative design process, such as a design charrette, supported by both technical experts and community representatives. The Fowler Neighborhood engagement process was intentionally designed as a multi-phase process, with each phase building upon the learning, relationships, and understanding developed during earlier phases. The purpose of the next phase is not to begin the conversation again or replace the work already completed by community members. Rather, Phase III will build upon what has already been learned and move the process from conversation to co-creation.

Additional consultants with expertise in architecture, housing development, engineering, finance, and collaborative design processes will join the project team during Phase III, which will involve the following:

• Translating community values and priorities into physical design alternatives.
• Exploring tradeoffs among affordability, density, parking, green space, housing variety, safety, and neighborhood compatibility.
• Using technical expertise to evaluate feasibility, infrastructure, transportation, financing, and implementation considerations.
• Continuing meaningful opportunities for public input and refinement.
• Identifying where there is agreement, where tradeoffs exist, and where additional discussion is needed.

In the coming days, we'll be reaching out to past participants to join us on August 10 and 11 for the final phase of consensus. Don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions in the meantime.

It has been several months since our last update, and we would like to share an overview of how the consensus-building process is progressing. As a reminder, the Fowler Community Housing Project is part of the City’s effort to expand middle-income housing options in Bozeman. With direction from the City Commission to pursue a consensus-based approach, the City is collaborating with neighbors, stakeholders, and the broader community.

The intent of this effort is to bring differing viewpoints together early in the process to identify concerns, opportunities, and tradeoffs before any formal decisions are made. To support this goal, we have convened a range of community perspectives connected to housing, neighborhood livability, and long-term community planning. Participants include adjacent neighbors; community members focused on how Bozeman plans for a growing community; local professionals who help residents access and secure housing; builders and real estate professionals with local experience; community land trust practitioners; local employers concerned with workforce recruitment and retention; community members advocating for trees and natural spaces; and City staff providing technical and planning support.

We appreciate those who have participated in one-on-one conversations with City staff and our consultant. We remain in the exploratory phase, focused on listening to concerns, perspectives, and ideas from individuals representing a range of community interests. These conversations are intended to help us better understand community priorities and areas of concern. Our role in this process is to gather perspectives and develop recommendations based on what we hear. The facilitation team does not make decisions; rather, we work to identify potential options and clarify tradeoffs for consideration in future stages.

We’re still actively collecting input and having conversations with community members. We hope you stay connected to the project by following along at Engage Bozeman to stay tuned for further opportunities for involvement.

Thank you to everyone who has been engaged with this project and provided feedback! As a recap on what happened on August 12: the City Commission discussed the Fowler Housing project and decided to move forward with annexing the land from Gallatin County into the City and creating a housing development that fits in with the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, Commissioners all signaled support for moving forward with a consensus process. During this process, various stakeholders from the surrounding neighborhood to renters who want to buy a home, and from housing nonprofits to businesses wanting to support the local workforce, will all be given an equal voice in decision-making, allowing us to move forward collaboratively.

On Jan. 6, you will see a consent item on our City Commission agenda related to the consensus process. The City is bringing on Diane Groves with Whole System Performance, a professional who has helped the Bozeman School District through other consensus-building processes. There are still many decisions left to be made during this next phase, such as what types of structures get built, how tall they are, how many units end up getting built, how much parking is allocated, and so much more. The designs that people have seen the city put forth thus far are just that - drawings to get people thinking about what this could look like, not decisions of what will be, and we look forward to visualizing this further with you all during the consensus process.

Owning this parcel of land gives the City a unique opportunity to be creative in how we can meet housing needs in our community. We hope that this collaborative method of engagement will set us up to have the best results that all can look on and be proud of, while also building stronger relationships between the City, neighborhoods, nonprofits, and businesses. You can expect to hear more information about next steps in the consensus process as soon as the contract is approved. If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to reach out.

We've been here, we've been there, and now we're back on Engage with our own Fowler Housing page to cover all things about the project.

If you missed the open house in June, feel free to take a look at the display boards and send us your questions!

There will be a work session at City Commission on Tuesday, August 12 at 6pm to discuss the next steps of annexation and zoning. To provide input, you're invited to join us at City Hall or online, or email comments@bozeman.net at any time.

Thanks for sticking with us as we consider what engagement looks like for this project. Be sure to click subscribe to stay up-to-date with any future announcements or engagement opportunities.

From May 20, 2025

Join us to learn about the proposed annexation and for-sale affordable housing project planned between W. Oak Street and Farmall Street.

Our project team members will be available to provide updates, answer your questions, and hear your feedback! There will be no formal presentation - drop in anytime during either session at your convenience. Both session will feature the same information.

Session One
June 4 from 12:00 to 1:30pm
Fire Station No. 3 (1705 Vaquero Pkwy)

Session Two
June 4 from 6:00 to 7:00pm
Emily Dickinson School Gym (2435 Annie St.)

From December 10, 2024

If you're interested in the Fowler Avenue Connection, you might be aware that the possibility exists for using some city-owned lands next to the street for affordable housing. While this housing effort is separate from the street project, you may be interested in learning more about an item on tonight's City Commission agenda. Under Consent, item F6 is a task order that would allow our consultant, Sanbell, to provide planning services for the annexation and zoning of City-owned property along Fowler Avenue. That means that our consultant in the coming months will be helping to establish how the property gets zoned and annexed, and we want our community to get involved in this effort early on and be a part of that process.

This property was purchased by the City over 10 years ago and is currently a part of Gallatin County. If the item passes and the work is performed, we will eventually have the rare opportunity to solicit proposals from developers on how they would create affordable housing on this property. Annexation and zoning by the city instead of selling the land directly to developers allows the public to lead on important zoning proposals that would typically be the responsibility of the developer. The possibilities are open at this point, and we want to create housing that our community feels excited about. That's why it's important to be aware now - establishing zoning will provide a framework for what types of housing proposals eventually get submitted.

If you're interested, stay tuned for more information shared through this platform on how to get involved in future engagement on this topic. We look forward to collaborating with you in the new year!