On July 16, 2007, the Workforce Housing Ordinance passed with a 3-2 vote by the City Commission.  Reduced parklands as a cost offset was the critical issue.  Developers and builders on the Task Force felt strongly that this reduction would ease the pain for fixed priced lots and houses while shifting some of the burden to others.  The move was in an effort to "Share the Responsibility" of affordable workforce housing throughout the community.  Parklands will be reduced on average of 11% per development.  In an example provided by the Task Force at the July 16th meeting, for a 100 acre development, the parklands would be reduced by 1.3 acres or, from a practical standpoint, about half the size of Cooper Park.  The remaining parkland for that 100 acre development would be just over 9 acres. 

The two main components of the ordinance that will be reviewed during the first review period include the parklands reduction and the formula used to calculate the number of affordable units.  The Task Force used a "net buildable acre" formula.  Using the 100 acre subdivision, once roads, infrastructure, parks, and setbacks are deducted from the land area, the total buildable acreage may be reduced to as little as 54 acres.  The formula is then used to determine the number of units required: 54 acres * 0.4 = 21.6 workforce housing units required.  In most cases this does not provide for 10% of the development being affordable, which was the purpose of the ordinance.   

Review the complete Ordinance here.  If you have questions, e-mail Connie@BozemanMontanaProperties.com.