If you see a small group of local residents carrying cameras and clipboards and walking along your street this year, there’s a chance they’ll be volunteer members of Bozeman’s Historic Preservation Advisory Board, participating in a “reconnaissance inventory” of historic neighborhoods in our community.  Here’s a brief FAQ about the process:

What’s an “historic inventory”?

    The term “historic inventory” (or “historic survey”) is used to describe the process of gathering a record of the historic and architectural resources that exist in a given area. These inventories collect valuable information about the legacies of communities and their buildings ... material that is used by homeowners, planners, and historians alike.

Has an historic inventory been conducted in Bozeman?

    Yep.  Projects in the 1970s and early 1980s resulted in a full inventory of nearly all of Bozeman’s oldest historic neighborhoods ... in general, the areas of town that predate the World War II era.  Individual “site forms’ were prepared for each building in the inventory area, and the research also allowed for the creation of most of Bozeman’s current historic districts, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Why the need for an update?

    Bozeman’s original historic inventory was completed in the early 1980s, and the data is now nearly 30 years old.  The material doesn’t meet current professional standards, but more importantly -- much of it is in serious need of an update.  Three decades of change have left a strong mark, even on Bozeman’s most historic streets.  Having accurate historical knowledge is crucial to city planners, developers, and property owners alike, and our out-of-date inventory greatly complicates the planning process.

What’s the inventory process?

    The 2011 project will be a “reconnaissance” inventory, gathering only basic information about neighborhoods.  Working only from the sidewalk or the street, volunteers will photograph individual buildings and take very brief notes about the historic qualities of the streetscape.  Volunteers won’t enter buildings or private yards.

    It’s important to note that the 2011 project will be very minimal in scope, collecting only basic information.  While it will provide us with a more-current overview of the status of our historic neighborhoods, it won’t be able to replace the original inventory data.  To solve the planning and development issues caused our outdated historical data, a more-detailed, “intensive-level” historic inventory (conducted by qualified professionals) will still be needed in the future.

What will the inventory be used for?

    The information gathered will help give our community a more up-to-date overview of the status of our historic neighborhoods.  The view is intended to be broad, rather than specific, giving us a sense of the changes that have taken place in Bozeman over the past decades, and of how our historic streetscapes have withstood those changes.  It won’t provide fully-detailed information about individual buildings.

What will the inventory NOT be used for?

    As noted above, the historic inventory will collect only very basic observations about individual buildings.  It will not influence a property’s zoning or assessed valuation, and the inventory itself will not place buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

    The inventory process may suggest local neighborhoods that could be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  National Register designation is honorary, and does not require that buildings be retained or preserved as-is.  It can, however, benefit an area in many ways:  fostering a sense of neighborhood pride, helping increase property values, and making available property tax abatements for restoration projects.

 

    If you have any additional questions -- either about this historic inventory, or

    earlier local inventory projects -- please call Courtney Kramer at the City of

    Bozeman’s Department of Planning and Community Development:  582-2260.

Historic inventory ...