Boyne USA, the parent company that owns Big Sky Resort and several other ski areas in North America, agreed this spring to pay nearly $25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. 

The lawsuit was brought by condominium owners in three Big Sky properties developed and managed by Boyne. The plaintiffs disputed the validity of condo rental programs and the requirement that rentals be exclusively managed through Boyne. 

The suit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court in Butte more than three years ago. Chief District Judge Brian Morris approved the preliminary settlement agreement on Feb. 27, just weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial on March 10. The agreement will require the judge’s final approval in June.

The plaintiffs and class members are current or former owners of condo units in the Shoshone Condominium Hotel, the Summit Hotel and the Village Center Condominium who participated in Boyne’s rental management program. Class members are the unnamed parties who joined the lawsuit and will receive settlement payments from Boyne.

A condo hotel is a hotel where a portion of rooms are converted to condos, which are then sold to property owners. The condos remain available to rent to the public, and owners may use the unit for vacations and receive some of the rental revenue. In the three condo hotels, unit owners signed an agreement to exclusively use Boyne for rental management and pay Boyne 50% of net rental revenue for management services, according to court documents.

The original complaint alleged that selling condo units with a mandatory management program is illegal under state and federal laws and that the 50% fee was far above the typical management rate for properties at similar resorts. It also outlined grievances about imposing maintenance and repair fees on owners, shorting owners’ rental revenue and requiring owners to make units available for up to five nights of complementary use for Boyne business partners. 

The settlement emphasized that Boyne does not admit the allegations. 

Ben Alke, a Bozeman lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Montana Free Press the plaintiffs and attorneys are “very pleased with the proposed agreement.” 

The plaintiffs were represented by firms Goetz, Geddes and Gardner and Crist, Krogh, Alke and Nord; Crowley Fleck and Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell represented Boyne.

Per the settlement, Boyne must pay $18.79 million by April 1 to establish a settlement fund, which will be dispersed among plaintiffs and class members and used to cover plaintiff attorney fees. 

Any involved parties must file objections to the settlement before May 2. A hearing to consider any objections will be held at the Butte courthouse on June 12. Following that hearing, a judge will finalize the settlement agreement, and then checks will be mailed to class members. 

There are approximately 377 class members, including the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit: Lawrence Anderson, trustee for the Lawrence T. Anderson and Suzanne M. Anderson Joint Revocable Living Trust, Robert and Nora Erhard, and Tjarda Clagett. 

The plaintiff’s legal representation will propose a formula for calculating the payment to each class member, which will be based proportionally on their past transactions with Boyne. The formula will be vetted and approved by the court, according to the settlement agreement.

While the payouts will vary drastically based on how long people have owned units and worked with Boyne, Alke said some class members are expected to receive tens of thousands of dollars.

The named plaintiffs will also be able to request up to $10,000 in service fees for representing class members in the lawsuit. 

Boyne also must pay a total of $6.2 million to the three homeowners associations in two equal installments. The first payment is due on April 1, 2026, and the second on April 1, 2027.

In each installment, the Shoshone Homeowners Association will receive $743,756, the Summit Homeowners Association will receive $845,534, the Village Center Homeowners Association will receive $477,570, and $1.03 million will go towards attorney fees. 

The homeowners’ associations can use that money for capital improvements in common areas and to improve the attractiveness, functionality and operations of the condo hotels. 

The settlement also removed the stipulation that Boyne must be the exclusive rental management company and hotel manager for the condo-hotels, stating that “exclusivity is unenforceable as written under Montana law as construed by the court.” 

Stacie Harris, a spokesperson for Boyne, told MTFP the proposed resolution “reflects our shared commitment to maintaining Big Sky Resort’s exceptional guest experience and standards.” 

“While we cannot comment on specific details until court approval is granted, this resolution allows us to move forward with clarity while maintaining our focus on continuing to build Big Sky Resort as a premier mountain destination,” Harris wrote in an email.

Boyne has disputed and continues to dispute the allegations, but believes the settlement “is the most effective and least costly resolution of this lawsuit,” the agreement said. “Boyne has agreed to enter into this settlement agreement to avoid the further expense, inconvenience, and distraction of burdensome and protracted litigation.” 

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Bozeman city officials and grocery stores are hammering out the details of a ballot initiative banning single-use plastics after voters overwhelmingly supported it. 

The Bozeman Plastics Ordinance passed by 63% on Election Day, with some 18,800 Bozemanites voting in support and 10,800 voting against. The initiative bans establishments from providing single-use plastic carryout bags, styrofoam containers and packing materials, and makes plastic straws and stirrers only available upon a customer’s request. 

The ban goes into effect May 1, 2025. The ordinance also charges the city with providing educational materials reminding people to bring reusable bags and enforcing the ordinance, with a $1,000 fine for the first violation and a $2,000 fine for subsequent violations.

The ordinance faced several hurdles to get on the ballot, and its critics say its broad, vague language makes it subject to legal challenges. 

Takami Clark, spokesperson for the city of Bozeman, said it was too early to answer questions about outreach to establishments, plans for enforcement and associated costs for the city. She highlighted the resolution the city commission passed in 2022 declaring support for banning single-use plastics. 

“The City of Bozeman is preparing to assist as described in the ordinance,” Clark said in an emailed statement. “We are currently in the midst of researching the ordinance and mapping out our next steps, and we will be prepared to share more information on our involvement as we get closer to the effective date of May 2025.”

Travis Frandsen, president of Town and Country Foods, said the three stores in Bozeman will start preparing for the plastics ban after the holidays. He also is waiting for city officials to give direction about what exactly to phase out. In addition to plastic bags, plastic deli containers and cutlery will go away, he said. 

While TNC fully supports the change, alternatives to plastic historically tend to cost more and not work as well, Frandsen said. Plastic is just so cheap it makes sense it became so popular, he said.

TNC offers customers cardboard boxes, and plastic or paper bags to carry groceries, Frandsen said, and plastic bags are by far the most common choice. He said the plan is to focus on boxes so as not to skyrocket paper bag use. The stores will also push customers to remember their reusable bags, likely through signage, and potentially have a bin of reusable bags available for people who do forget. 

“We’ll know more once we get into 2025,” Frandsen said. “But that it did pass by so much, that definitely tells us that it probably won’t be as problematic as it could have been once it goes into place,” Frandsen said. 

Rory Sandoval, general manager of the Bozeman Co-op, applauded the plastics ban. The co-op stores haven’t used plastic bags in over 10 years in an effort to reduce waste, Sandoval said. Their to-go containers and cutlery are also compostable. 

While the new law won’t impact the way the co-op does business, Sandoval said he hopes other stores look to them as a role model for plastic reduction.

Still, the ban has received pushback, with some saying it will be subject to legal challenges. 

Chris Cargill, president of the Mountain States Policy Center, published an analysis of the initiative before the election. In an interview with Montana Free Press, he described the ban as “legally fraught” and “bad public policy.” 

As written, the civil penalties for violations exceed what is allowed under Montana state law, Cargill said. The law also allows the city to fine the owner of the property where a violation occurs, potentially putting landlords at risk for their tenants’ actions. 

Cargill said there’s a “very good chance” the initiative is challenged in court, with the Mountain States Policy Center potentially bringing a lawsuit before May.

Aside from the legal ambiguities, Cargill also questioned if the ban would have an environmental benefit. He noted a University of Georgia study that found when cities in California banned single-use plastics, the sales of small trash bags skyrocketed. People end up finding alternatives, and you have to question if those alternatives are really better, he said. 

Cargill also noted that people are good at reusing plastic bags, often using them as lunch bags, trash can liners or to clean up after their pets.

John Meyer, executive director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, described criticism of the ban as “the usual squawking.” Cottonwood was a champion behind the ban, winning a lawsuit that invalidated a state law saying local governments and citizens couldn’t ban single-use plastics and clearing the initiative’s path to the ballot.

“People don’t like change, and this is going to change the way that things operate in Bozeman,” Meyer said. 

Meyer said the initiative language was “intentionally broad” so the city could determine the logistics of enforcement. 

While it’s possible someone could sue to invalidate the initiative, given the legal challenges of getting it on the ballot, Meyer said it’s unlikely given how much it passed by. If voters were more split, litigation would feel more likely, he said.

Overall, Meyer said his team is happy with the results. People have been working on this issue for years, and nearly 75 people helped gather signatures outside grocery stores in Bozeman. 

The passage is a “beacon of hope” for people who care about the environment, Meyer said. It will undoubtedly inspire similar efforts in other cities in the future, he said.

Editor’s note: John Meyer, director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, is married to Montana Free Press reporter Amanda Eggert, who did not participate in the reporting or editing of this article.

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People with concerns about how the city of Bozeman is addressing affordable housing will have a chance to seek clarity and ask questions at a public meeting this week. 

City officials are holding an open house to discuss updating Bozeman’s affordable housing ordinance. The meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 21, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Fire Station 3, 1705 Vaquero Parkway. 

The event will include a short presentation and several tables manned by city staffers that people can rotate through, Bozeman Housing and Urban Renewal Manager David Fine told Montana Free Press. He hopes the format inspires free-flowing conversations and an exchange of ideas. 

Bozeman is seeking feedback on its affordable housing ordinance, which the city commission adopted in September of 2022. The ordinance outlines voluntary incentives for affordable housing, offering developers deviations from building height, lot size and parking requirements in exchange for including a percentage of affordable units in new developments. Since its implementation, the policy has spurred the building of about 1,500 affordable units, Fine said.

But the ordinance has been met with pushback, with some arguing that straying from height and parking requirements harms neighborhood character. Outcry over a mammoth development called the Guthrie Project in midtown Bozeman moved the city commission to deny the project in July and consider updating the ordinance. 

“We’re taking the opportunity to take what we’ve learned in administering this ordinance over two years and tighten it up to make it work better and work more as intended,” Fine said.

Fine said he wants to know which “lever” for affordability the public is most willing to accept — for example, whether people prefer taller buildings with more parking spots or the opposite, shorter buildings with less parking availability. 

The bulk of the pushback has surrounded the ordinance’s “deep incentives” for developments to contain 50% affordable, income-based units. A city report, available here, presented four different options for modifying those incentives for officials to weigh. 

Still, the incentives are one of the few remaining tools to secure affordable housing, Fine said, after the Montana Legislature outlawed requiring affordable units — a policy called inclusionary zoning used in Bozeman and Kalispell — in the 2021 session. 

The city is also soliciting feedback through a short online survey available here. Fine said as of Nov. 12, the survey had received more than 100 responses, although officials are still hoping for more, especially from renters.

One question in the survey asks people what policies they would like to see implemented and notes certain ideas would require a change in state law. Policies the city is barred from pursuing include rent control, rental increase caps, application fee controls and taxing second homes or out-of-state buyers. It’s important to educate people on the limitations, Fine said, again stressing that “we don’t have a lot of tools.” 

The updated ordinance will also address new conditions in the market, Fine said. One change needed is to redefine the income level to qualify for affordable units. The 2022 ordinance allowed affordable units for people making at or below 80% area median income (AMI). But incomes have surged since 2022 and now people at 80% AMI are better able to afford market-rate rents, according to a city analysis. Lowering the threshold to 60% AMI to obtain an affordable unit will help the people most in need, Fine said. 

“There are over 7,000 households in Bozeman that are at or below 60% of the area median income, and we currently only have about 1,500 units that are income-targeted in our market. So by focusing the ordinance, we’re focusing it on the area where there’s the greatest need,” Fine said.

The HRDC and other public commenters have recommended readjusting the AMI threshold. Fine said Bozemanites have already had opportunities to share their thoughts on the ordinance, and ideas have been presented to the city’s planning, community development and economic vitality advisory boards.

Based on that feedback, the city plans to draft an updated affordable housing ordinance that will likely be presented to the city commission at the end of January, Fine said. 

“The commission didn’t direct us to throw it out. They directed us to improve it, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

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BOZEMAN — On a recent Wednesday morning in north Bozeman, the sound of hauling equipment and tow trucks filled the air as city officials and police moved to close a popular urban camping area.

Between the lines of trailers and cars parked down side streets were consolidated piles of trash and signs informing people of the “clean up day.” Other signs noted the impending closure of the three streets to camping. Kimberwickle Street, Blondie Street and Veronica Way — north of Winco and nearby apartment complexes and Chief Joseph Middle School — are currently occupied by about 30 campers.

The Bozeman City Commission passed Ordinance 2172 on Oct. 22, which requires people to obtain $25 monthly permits for urban camping starting next Friday, Nov. 22. The city can deny permits, criminally enforce violations and close “high-conflict areas” to camping. Next October, camping in the public right-of-way will be banned in Bozeman entirely.

“We’ve had too many conflicts between these campers and these neighbors,” Interim City Manager Chuck Winn told Montana Free Press Wednesday. “We’re trying to address the behaviors that are causing conflicts, that are damaging our environment and creating quality-of-life issues for the community.” 

The changes come as towns across the U.S. struggle with affordability, a surging influx of new residents and people experiencing homelessness. According to HRDC and city reports, in 2019, Bozeman counted just under 100 unhoused residents, a number that ballooned to over 260 in 2023 as the average cost of rent surged some 20%. The Warming Center also reported a 77% increase in visitors during that time. 

Once the ordinance takes effect, campers will receive a three-day notice to move or obtain a permit and an official warning, said Benjamin Bailey, Bozeman’s neighborhood services and code compliance manager. Then people will face misdemeanor charges, with up to a $500 fine or 10 days in jail.

That’s a steep change from the current law, which imposes a $25 fine and civil penalty after three warnings for violations. Previously, cities could not force campers to move if there were a lack of beds in homeless shelters, but that was overruled by the Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court decision in June.

On Wednesday, officials impounded a handful of abandoned vehicles or vehicles with residents who had not been responsive to the city. The city has held monthly clean-ups of camping spots since February, Winn said, hauling trash and items like broken furniture away in dump trailers. A city report estimated that some $60,000 had been spent on urban camping clean-ups in fiscal year 2024.

Asked where these residents are being directed to go, Winn said the city hasn’t designated specific areas. New camping spots must fit within the rules of the ordinance — camping within 100 feet of businesses and residences or adjacent to parks or cemeteries isn’t allowed. Winn said he doesn’t yet know if other areas will be closed to camping like these three streets, and “it all depends” on how conflicts with neighbors play out. 

Bailey said campers were informed of the new permit system through notices with QR codes taped to vehicle windows. People can scan them and fill out the short application. City officials have also been talking to people in person to ensure they are aware of the law change and using translators for non-English speakers, he said.

As of Wednesday, the city had received 37 permit applications, Winn said. Officials have processed 26 so far, approving 20 and denying six. 

Permits can be denied if the applicant has had frequent citations or been challenging for neighboring residents, Winn said. The city will also deny campers who do have other options so the city can focus on helping the people most in need, Winn said. 

“There’s a lot of reasons why people are on the street here, and there are some hard-working folks who just have a bad run of luck… They want to get off the street. They want to find permanent housing. They want to find work. And those are the folks we want to focus our efforts on helping,” Winn said. 

“We also know there are people who have other options that are on the street,” Winn said. “We’ve had people tell us, ‘Yeah I’m gonna get out of here. I’ve just been waiting until you make me.’” 

Tim, an unhoused resident who declined to share his last name for safety reasons, has urban camped in Bozeman for five years. He said he’s experienced frequent harassment from homeowners and other campers and once had a septic tank dumped into his trailer. 

While he hasn’t applied yet, Tim said he plans to get a camping permit because he has no other choice. He doesn’t know yet where he’ll go. It’s difficult to move his camper, Tim said, as he works regular double shifts at a local bar and isn’t home much. 

“I have to apply for it because I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Tim said. “It’s just one big headache. I’m trying so hard not to break any of their rules. I keep my place clean. But we are all just completely vulnerable. It’s like we’re the bait on the end of the hook and somebody’s fishing with us.” 

Charles Touchton, another urban camper, plans to move his set-up to a friend’s property in Gallatin Gateway once the new law takes effect. He said he makes good money working as a mason but can’t rent an apartment because of a past felony conviction. 

Touchton said the idea of criminalizing homelessness is anti-American and concerning to him. He’s worried about his neighbors here and people who are worse off than him. 

“I’m just wondering what are all the other people gonna do that don’t have anywhere to go,” Touchton said. “I just got lucky I got somewhere to go. I don’t like where things are at, but it is what it is.” 

Bozeman’s Winn said once the ordinance sunsets next October — with urban camping set to be banned entirely — officials will assess the situation and see how to handle the remaining campers. He hopes most people in need will have found other options by then.

“But right now, it’s such a big problem, and people are here for so many different reasons that it’s hard to know,” Winn said. “It’s hard to know who we can help, and who wants help.”

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BOZEMAN – Scores of farmers, ranchers and agricultural policymakers flocked to Bozeman last Friday for an annual agricultural economics conference hosted by Montana State University. 

The conference, part of MSU’s Celebrate Agriculture Week, has been held for 18 years and provides an opportunity to discuss agricultural trends and policy ideas relevant to Montana. Twelve presenters, most of them MSU economics professors, delivered lectures and presented their research projects throughout the day. 

Conversations centered around how government policy, global events and drought will impact agriculture while recognizing the investments Montana has made to support farmers and ranchers in recent years. 

Sreekala Bajwa, dean and director of the MSU College of Agriculture, highlighted how the university’s research endeavors – like plant breeding and automated technology in agriculture – directly help producers in Montana. Last year, the agriculture college spent a whopping $54 million on research. 

“Our land grant mission is taking the knowledge that is generated by research to the producers, to the end users, who can benefit from that,” Bajwa said at the conference.   

State agencies gave updates on their investments in Montana agriculture. Mike Honeycutt, executive officer of the Montana Department of Livestock, called attention to the work on a new agricultural lab complex. The Montana Legislature approved its funding in 2023.

Currently under construction off South 19th Avenue in Bozeman, the complex will house an upgraded Department of Livestock Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, Department of Agriculture Analytical Lab, and MSU Wool Lab. Honeycutt said the overdue upgrades will allow for expanded testing services and research opportunities. It’s slated to open in 2026. 

Montana has also expanded its local slaughter and meat-processing capacity through increasing state inspections, Honeycutt said. In 2024, Montana approved its first Cooperative Interstate Shippers licensed facility — an alternative to U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection that still allows products to be shipped across state lines — and 11 other facilities have applied for licensure, Honeycutt said.

Christy Clark, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture, outlined the recent $50 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant that Montana received from the Environmental Protection Agency in July. Some $20 million of the grant went to the Montana Department of Agriculture. Work will focus on fertilizer innovation, ranchland stewardship and improved confined feedlots for animals, Clark said. 

Exports are also a critical part of Montana agriculture, Clark said. She highlighted some of the trade team visits to the state and Montana representatives traveling to other countries to solidify partnerships, like her April visit to Vietnam. Solid trade relationships are key going forward, as there are questions on how new tariffs could impact the state’s export market, she said. 

The impacts of global politics were also a theme of the keynote M.L. Wilson lecture, delivered by Gary Schnitkey, a professor of farm management at the University of Illinois. 

The surge and fall of global wheat prices carried impacts to Montana, one of the top grain-producing U.S. states, Schnitkey said. In 2024, wheat averaged $5.70 a bushel, down from $8.83 a bushel in 2023 following the war in Russia and Ukraine. 

It’s likely wheat will continue to average around $6 a bushel in years to come, but the world’s shift away from free trade could make prices more unpredictable, Schnitkey said. The main sector hurt by that shift is agriculture because of its dependence on global exports, he said.

Tariffs proposed by President-elect Donald Trump are “not exactly comforting to people in agriculture,” Schnitkey said, but right now impacts on trade are a big question mark. Research from corn and soy industry groups projected the loss of some $5 billion in agricultural exports if additional tariffs went into place, an audience member added.

Schnitkey also discussed the role of federal farm safety net programs in a world where prices are stable for farmers, but operating expenses are soaring. Congress is set to extend or create a new Farm Bill next year, and it’s important to consider how increased federal spending could impact crop insurance premiums, land prices and rental rates, Schnitkey said. 

Other presenters discussed the economic impacts of weather in recent years. In his agricultural outlook presentation, MSU Extension Specialist Joel Schumacher said Montana’s situation has largely improved compared to the bad drought year in 2022 when many ranchers had to reduce cattle herd sizes due to a shortage of hay.

Cattle prices are faring very well this year, Schumacher said, so ranchers who have calves to sell are in a good position. But ranchers who culled aggressively in 2022 are still trying to rebuild herd sizes and may have to pass up a paycheck to get cattle numbers back to where they were pre-drought, Schumacher said. 

MSU professor Seunghyun Lee outlined his research on climate change and U.S. crop production. Based on studies conducted on corn and soy crops in the Midwest, Lee found that extreme heat can significantly reduce crop yields and create variable revenues. 

In 2012, a heat wave increased revenue for Midwest farmers due to crop shortage, Lee said. The implications for Montana farmers are that crops and livestock influenced by the corn market might experience price shocks more frequently in a changing climate. Lee also discussed forthcoming research into how climate shocks impact what farmers choose to plant. In Montana, he plans to research to what extent farmers plant more winter wheat or fallow land in a season after a drought year. 

Other presentations touched on the sharp increase in property taxes in Montana, risk management strategies for farmers and ranchers and the importance of value-added agriculture for creating new markets.

Between presentations, Bajwa thanked the conference sponsors, including the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, Montana Farmer’s Union, and MSU Extension, and commended the interest of attendees. 

“We are celebrating the agricultural legacy, not only the past but also the present and the future of agriculture at Montana State University,” Bajwa said. “Thank you for your support of our students who are going to be the future of agriculture here in Montana and beyond.” 

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BOZEMAN — When developers proposed a five-story apartment complex in midtown Bozeman, they made the city a promise: Half of the 111 units would be earmarked for affordable, below-market-rate housing. 

Called the Guthrie, the proposed project took advantage of a city policy allowing developers to deviate from height and parking requirements in exchange for building some affordable units. 

But following public outcry about the building’s height and scant 37 parking spaces, the Bozeman city commission nixed the project in July. The developer has filed a lawsuit over the denial.

Now, the ensuing litigation is highlighting the difficulty of building more housing in a growing city still shaped by its small-town past.

To David Fine, Bozeman’s economic development manager, his work is about finding a balance between the community’s need for affordable housing and its values of open space, mountain views and accessible parking.

“It’s not a secret that Bozeman has been discovered over the past decade. We’ve added over 20,000 people in that time, and we’ve done careful planning,” Fine told Montana Free Press. “I think we’ll have to continue to deal with the challenges of growth and change as we move forward. I don’t really see it slowing down.” 

Across Montana, cities have faced an affordability crisis as the influx of new residents strains local housing markets. State policy has focused on cutting regulations to make it easier for developers to build new homes, reasoning that the additional supply will slow or reverse price increases by giving buyers and renters more options. But some of those policies limit what local governments can do to support affordable housing.

In 2021, House Bill 259 in the Montana Legislature banned inclusionary zoning, which Bozeman and Whitefish had used to require a set percentage of affordable units in new developments. In 2023, Senate Bill 105 banned rent control statewide. Now, cities must use economic incentives for developers to build affordable units, which isn’t “as big of a lever” as requirements, Fine said. 

The incentives are outlined in Bozeman’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, passed by the city in 2022. Following controversy over the Guthrie, the city is revising the ordinance. Fine said he expects the city commission to vote on new language this winter. 

Building units that residents can afford is key for cities like Bozeman, a growing college town where the greater area’s median single-family home price is nearing $1 million. 

More than 55% of Bozeman residents are renters, and half of those renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend over 30% of their monthly income on rent. According to HRDC estimates, a household would need to earn $100,000 a year to comfortably afford rent in Bozeman, well over the median annual income of renter households, which is $51,000.

Particularly between 2020 and 2022, a shortage of available housing moved property owners to raise rents, a city economics report found. In those two years, the average rent in Bozeman increased by 17%, from $1,656 to $1,938. 

But from 2022 to 2023, average rents rose just 0.3%, from $1,938 to $1,944. In two years, 1,272 new units were built in town, and the rental vacancy rate rose from 4.8% to 9.4%, according to city data. That indicates the supply of housing has started to catch up with the demand, Fine said, but he expects the vacancy rate to fall as the market absorbs the new units. City data from 2024 is not yet available.

It’s still early, but the affordable housing ordinance has accomplished a lot, Fine said. In two years, construction has started on 387 units that used the incentives, and 1,079 more apartments are in the pipeline. But there’s still more work to be done, Fine said. 

One section of the city’s affordable housing ordinance under scrutiny is a provision that lets developments that meet affordability criteria include fewer parking spaces than would otherwise be required by city code. Fine said parking is the “most effective lever” for affordability because it requires a lot of land. 

“There are cases, with the price of land, you have to choose between long-term affordability and providing a large number of on-site parking spaces,” Fine said. 

Currently in Bozeman, affordable units built with the incentives target people making less than 80% of the area median income (AMI). But because the median income has jumped 23% in the three years — from around $62,000 for one person in 2021 to $76,300 in 2024, according to a city policy analysis — the gap between 80% AMI and market-rate rents has narrowed. That means the 80% AMI rent is not as much of a discount from the market rate as it was before, said Lila Fleishman, HRDC’s community development director.

Revising the ordinance to incentivize more affordable units tied to 60% of the AMI would lower the cost of affordable units and help the people most in need, Fleishman said. The change would lower the rent cap of some affordable units from $1,962 for a typical two-bedroom apartment to $1,472, according to the policy analysis. The rent for affordable units in the proposed Guthrie would hover in that range, around $1,600 a month.

Fleishman emphasized that “there’s not a lot of tools on the local level. There’s limited tools in general, particularly in the regulatory environment of Montana.” This is just one ordinance, and it “can’t do everything all at once,” she said, but it can help address some of the trends that were exacerbated by the pandemic. 

DESPITE NEW CONSTRUCTION, BARRIERS TO HOUSING REMAIN

Fleishman said that after COVID-19, population growth, the cost of construction and interest rates skyrocketed. The shifting market even forced HRDC to stop offering some resources, like a down-payment assistance program, because they became too expensive to operate.

“Our resources just don’t go as far now,” Fleishman said.

And even with affordable housing being built, steep barriers remain, including application fees for renters that have become commonplace.

Ashlie Nettleton, a 27-year-old Bozeman resident, currently lives in her car.

At her last apartment in Bozeman, the landlord raised the rent from $1,375 to $2,600 over two years. It was tough, and sometimes, Nettleton and her dad had to skip meals to afford rent, she said. In 2023, it became too much, and she started looking for other options. 

“I just want people to remember that pretty much anybody is one step away from being in this situation,” Nettleton said. She’s worked three jobs at times and currently drives school buses and for Uber.

Nettleton estimated she spent hundreds of dollars on application fees during her search. Most of the time, she paid the $25 or $50 fee to apply for housing and never heard back. Because of bad credit, she didn’t qualify for income-based housing.

“If you have something like an eviction on your record, an inability to pay first and last month’s rent, the security deposit, a bad reference, it’s going to be really, really challenging for you in this market,” Fleishman said.

Some landlords say soaring property taxes have forced them to raise rents.

Jack Austin, a Miles City resident who rents two homes in Bozeman below market rate, said his property taxes jumped by some 65% in 2023, as state tax appraisals saw soaring property values in fast-growing areas. He said controlling property taxes is the only way to keep rental costs down in Bozeman. He commended Senate Bill 194, which proposed property tax breaks for landlords who offer rents below the market rate. The bill failed to gain traction in the 2023 Legislature.

ORGANIZERS PUSHING THE CITY FOR MORE SOLUTIONS

Still others, like Benjamin Finegan who helped start Bozeman Tenants United in 2021, are urging the city to think creatively about solutions.

Finegan said he’s crammed seven people into a four-bedroom house to afford rent, watched friends work three jobs to stay in Bozeman and said goodbye to loved ones forced out of state by the cost of living, including his mom. It’s common for people here to spend one-third or even one-half of their monthly income on rent, he said.

“That’s not sustainable. It’s leading to people grinding their lives away at work and not having any savings to show for it at the end of the day,” Finegan said.

Last year, the group won a fight to ban future unoccupied short-term rentals in Bozeman. That will help address the rise in wealthy out-of-staters buying property to use as Airbnbs, Finegan said. Currently, organizers are pushing Bozeman to put money toward legal representation for tenants being evicted or living in unsafe conditions.

At the end of the day, it’s about providing more renters with more opportunities, Fine said. 

What Bozemanites have experienced since 2020 is ultimately a cultural shift, he said. People who could have been homeowners a few years ago are now, by default, renters. 

Fleishman echoed the change. “There’s just been an acceleration of the market in a way that people who had opportunities a few years ago, they just don’t have the same opportunities now,” she said. 

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BOZEMAN — Following an initial rejection, a citizen initiative to ban single-use plastics will make the Bozeman ballot after city officials agreed to a court settlement this week. 

Last week, Gallatin County Election Administrator Eric Semerad determined the initiative did not meet the signature threshold required to make the ballot. But two days later, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the Bozeman city attorney and Semerad, challenging the threshold. The suit argued that organizers only needed 15% of signatures from active Bozeman voters, compared to city officials’ claim that they needed 25%. 

Semerad told Montana Free Press the settlement was based on timing — the final language for the city ballot is due Thursday by 5 p.m., and ballots must be mailed to voters by Sept. 20. 

If the city didn’t settle the case, and a judge ruled a month later the initiative should be on the ballot, ballots would need to be reprinted at significant expense to taxpayers, Semerad said.

The legal questions of the case remain undecided, Semerad said. The disagreement stems from whether this year’s election counts as a general or special election. In non-general election years, citizen-led initiatives need 25% of signatures to make the ballot, according to state law.

Organizers with Montana Plastics Free and Gallatin Valley Beyond Plastics collected 6,739 verified signatures for the initiative, or 23.6% of the electorate, just 389 signatures short of meeting the 25% threshold. 

Dan Carty, a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed earlier this month and one of the roughly 70 volunteers who helped collect signatures, said he appreciated the city agreeing to the settlement. 

“I think it is the right decision,” Carty said. “Citizen ballot initiatives are an exercise in direct democracy… I’m extremely thankful the initiative will now be on the ballot.” 

If passed, the ballot initiative would ban establishments from giving customers single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers for takeout, as well as the use of polystyrene packing materials. It would also ban distributing single-use plastic straws and stirrers unless specifically requested by the customer. 

The ban would take effect May 1, 2025. Violators would first receive a warning, then a $1,000 for the first violation and a $2,000 fine for the second and future violations. 

The city would also be responsible for designing educational materials for retail establishments announcing the ban’s effective date and reminding customers to bring reusable bags.

Certain plastics would still be allowed, including non-handled plastic bags to package loose items, bags to wrap fish or meat, bags to hold chemicals, bags for garbage and laundry, and plastic water bottles.

John Meyer, director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, said getting the initiative on the Bozeman ballot “has been a very long haul for a lot of people.”

To even begin collecting signatures, organizers represented by Meyer had to file an initial lawsuit challenging House Bill 407, which the Montana Legislature passed in 2023. The bill, which some have described as a “ban on bans,” effectively barred city governments or citizen ballot initiatives from regulating single-use plastics. 

A Lewis and Clark district court judge ruled in March that the law unconstitutionally restricted citizens’ ability to bring ballot measures, but the ban on city government bans is still unresolved. The state of Montana appealed the case to the Montana Supreme Court, but it’s unlikely the case will be decided before the November election, Meyer said.

Still, the outcome could affect how other Montana cities can regulate plastics. Organizers in Missoula were gathering signatures for their own plastics ban, but the effort fell short after a damaging windstorm in July. Meyer said it’s likely Missoulains will renew the push next year.

“It’s pretty important for Bozeman to get this passed because the Montana Legislature is no doubt watching very closely what’s happening,” Meyer said. If the initiative fails, that could embolden further legislation to restrict regulation, he said. 

Megan Wolff, the health policy director at Beyond Plastics and an environmental health consultant for Cottonwood, said regulating the “unnecessary single-use plastics” is key to addressing human health risks. 

Wolff said that includes things like plastic wrapping over boxes, grocery store bags, bubble wrap and packing peanuts — items that are immediately thrown away — not important plastics used by the medical and transportation industry.

Wolff said the plastics issue has pivoted from litter and environmental impacts to focus on health concerns, as scientists start to learn more about how microplastics affect the human body.

According to a 2023 study by the Minderoo Monaco Commission on Human Health, microplastics have been found in human organs, blood, tissue and brains. Microplastics leach chemicals and carcinogens that have been linked to cognitive problems and hormone disruptions. They have also been found in human fetuses and even the blood of house pets. 

While the long-term health effects are still unknown — single-use plastic production started to surge just two decades ago — scientists have some educated guesses that are “pretty dark and largely coming true,” Wolff said. 

In the U.S, some 14 states have successful bans on single-use plastic bags, Wolff said. 

Still, industry groups that supported the HB 407 “ban on bans,” like the Montana Restuarant Association, argued a patchwork of different regulations across cities would burden businesses.

The Bozeman Chamber of Commerce did not return a request for comment Thursday.

Editor’s note: John Meyer, director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, is married to Montana Free Press reporter Amanda Eggert, who did not participate in the reporting or editing of this article.

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A highly anticipated update to how Yellowstone National Park manages bison is setting the stage to expand the animal’s range in Montana, tribes and conservationsts say.

After years of work, Yellowstone released its new bison management plan this summer. More than 27,000 people commented on the document, which calls for more bison compared to the previous plan from 24 years ago. It also incorporates management changes that have been put into effect over the past two decades, including a surge in bison hunting near park boundaries and a new program to transfer live, disease-free bison to tribal nations.

“We have come a very long way since the last bison management plan was signed in 2000,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said in a release. “This new plan solidifies much of the progress made over the past two decades and provides a foundation for future decision making.”

The plan, written as an environmental impact statement, has raised questions about what an increased herd size in the national park means for management outside the park. 

Yellowstone analyzed three alternatives in developing the new plan and chose to use existing hunting and transfer efforts to manage for a herd size of 3,500 to 6,000 bison. The population has averaged about 5,200 for the past decade.

Tom McDonald, vice chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, called the new plan a step toward restoring buffalo on the larger landscape. 

Expanding where Yellowstone bison can go would help make tribal and state hunting safer, McDonald told Montana Free Press. Most hunting occurs outside the park’s north entrance, in Beattie Gulch, where bison are shot as they leave the park in winter searching for food. 

Each year, CSKT members receive between 100 and 400 hunting tags to harvest buffalo outside the park. More than 1,000 tags are distributed across all tribes that hold treaty rights to hunt buffalo, and that number has grown over the decades. 

McDonald said safety concerns necessitate seasoned hunters. Last year, a Nez Perce hunter was grazed by a stray bullet that ricocheted across the narrow gulch. Some groups have organized to stop the hunting, pointing to dangers for humans and high bison mortality in years that feature large migrations.

“As more people crowd the landscape, we do get hunters that just don’t want to go. They just don’t want to risk the headache of too many folks there,” McDonald said. “Which also points to the fact that we need to have more buffalo all over the landscape and be able to provide that, because the demand is there.” 

Josh Hemenway, wildlife program manager for Custer Gallatin National Forest, said Forest Service officials are supportive of having bison present on the forest year-round.

Currently, bison are allowed in tolerance zones outside northern and western Yellowstone. But allowing bison to disperse beyond those zones could help improve hunter safety in the “bottleneck” of Beattie Gulch, Hemenway said in an interview.

That hasn’t happened yet, but the 2022 Custer Gallatin Forest Plan outlined bison grazing as a future management goal. The new Yellowstone plan supports that vision, Hemenway said.

Hemenway said a combination of factors is limiting bison distribution currently. Balancing tribal treaty hunts with state regulations aimed at containing brucellosis creates “a complex challenge to try and sift through,” he said.  

Yellowstone Bison have historically been confined to the park due to concern that they can spread brucellosis to cattle. But as the new plan notes, updated research found has found that elk — whose movement in and out of the park is not restricted — have transmitted brucellosis to cattle more than two dozen times since 2000, while there has not been a single recorded case of bison-to-cattle transmission of the disease.

“I think that there’s a lot of interest in getting bison distributed out further,” Hemenway said. “But everyone has their own concerns, intentions and ideas on how to make that happen. It just hasn’t quite lined up yet.” 

Some preparation is already happening. Compared to 30 years ago, there are far fewer cattle grazing allotments on the forest that could conflict with bison, Hemenway said. Many allotments closed because of conflicts with grizzly bears, and the Forest Service has removed miles of fencing that could restrict migratory bison. 

Future actions could remove more fencing and ensure that grasslands remain suitable habitat by addressing conifer encroachment and treating weeds, Hemenway said. Down the line, the agency would work to separate grazing livestock and bison both spatially and temporally. For example, bison could graze national forestland in winter while cattle are on lower-elevation private land.

Other groups are working beyond the public lands surrounding Yellowstone to return bison to tribes.

Chamois Andersen, a senior field representative with nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, said she’s thrilled the plan “explicitly describes the transfer program as being instrumental to Yellowstone’s ability to manage within that population range.” 

That opens the door to future private and government grant dollars to improve quarantine facilities and infrastructure for tribal herds, Andersen said. Defenders of Wildlife has helped fund wildlife-friendly fencing for the Fort Peck buffalo herd and paid for the truckers who drive the bison to Fort Peck. Other groups have supported the expenses too, including the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Yellowstone Forever raising more than $500,000 to build the park’s quarantine facility for the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. 

Since 2019, the program has transferred more than 400 disease-free bison to 26 tribes across the country. Bison are first quarantined in Yellowstone, then sent to the Fort Peck Reservation for assurance testing. From there, the animals are transferred to other tribes through the Intertribal Buffalo Council.  

Robbie Magnan, who runs the Fort Peck buffalo program, said expanding the transfer program would allow him to meet the high demand for buffalo. 

When tribes maintain their own herds, they can harvest buffalo year-round rather than having to go to Yellowstone in the winter to hunt. That’s significant because many ceremonies centered around buffalo take place in the summer, Magnan said. There’s also a year-round demand for meat to support programs on the reservation. 

Magnan said there is more demand for Yellowstone buffalo nationwide than supply. That’s true for Fort Peck, too—last year, nearly 500 people applied for the 50 buffalo hunting tags available on the reservation.

Alongside the praise, Yellowstone’s management of bison has also faced criticism.

Jared Pettinato, an attorney who filed litigation in 2019 to push the National Park Service to update the old plan, called the new approach “disappointing.” 

By continuing to limit their population growth and range, NPS and the Forest Service are not managing bison as wildlife and instead caving to the livestock industry and the state of Montana, he said.

“They had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something good for bison, for the tribes and for the American people, and they backed down in the face of Montana saying we don’t want to do that,” Pettinato said.

However, the Gianforte administration said the park service excluded state agencies from decision-making regarding the new plan and called it “yet another insult to the state of Montana.” 

Gianforte has previously threatened to sue over any plan that allows for a herd size over 3,000. A spokesperson for the governor told MTFP in mid-August the state was reviewing its options. 

This story was updated Aug. 21, 2024, to clarify which groups have raised money for the Bison Conservation Transfer Program.

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