After nearly a year of collaborative planning, the Gallatin County Planning Department has entered the adoption phase of the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and Housing Strategy (HS). The Gallatin County FLUM is a planning tool designed to guide where and how development will happen based on the values of our community.

Water quality & availability are major drivers in The FLUM, and issues surrounding the Gallatin River play a huge role in this planning process. See how on the map below:

Our Chief Executive and Science Officer, Kristin Gardner, PhD, has submitted a public comment on behalf of the Gallatin River Task Force to the Gallatin County Planning Board and the County Commission expressing support of the FLUM. Here’s an excerpt:

We are extremely encouraged by the significant consideration of water in the FLUM, including:

 

• The FLUM discourages development in highly sensitive and high-risk areas, including floodplains, channel migration zones, and ecologically significant areas.
• The FLUM connects open spaces, driving growth towards existing infrastructure and making efficient use of land and water resources.
• The FLUM incentivizes growth to be connected to public water and sewer facilities, reducing nitrogen pollution from individual septic systems and increasing treatment accountability.

We also appreciate that the County is incorporating an amendment process for the FLUM to account for new data or changes in existing data. We look forward to sharing data that indicate areas with high groundwater nitrate levels and high potential for groundwater recharge in the Upper Gallatin.

 

We also are excited to continue collaboration with the County and other stakeholders to ensure that these important protections are effectively implemented and maintained for the benefit of the Upper Gallatin Watershed.

Read the entire comment letter here.

Community members are encouraged to submit public comments to envision@gallatin.mt.gov prior to the upcoming adoption hearings or attend the hearings to share their input on the FLUM and HS. All meetings take place at the Gallatin County Courthouse Community Room (third floor), 311 W Main, Bozeman, and on Zoom.

• November 19, 6 pm: Planning Board Public Hearing & Decision to Recommend Adoption of the FLUM
• November 26, 9 am: County Commission Public Hearing & Decision on a Resolution of Intent to Adopt the FLUM and Decision on a Resolution to Adopt the HS
• December 10, 10 am: County Commission Public Hearing and Decision on a Resolution to Adopt the FLUM as an Amendment to the Growth Policy

For more information on these meetings, including how to access via Zoom, visit the Envision Gallatin website.

Learn more about the FLUM and the Lower Gallatin River from Gallatin Watershed Council.

For more information on the previous phase of this process, check out this post.