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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-16-16 Public Comment - D. Canfield - ADUs in Historic DistrictsFrom:Dean Littlepage To:Agenda; The Canfields Subject:Fwd: Public comment for the 11/16 joint meeting of HPAB and DRB Date:Wednesday, November 16, 2016 9:11:49 AM Attachments:2016.11.15_HPAB_DRB_ADU_Infill_Comment.docx Attached Message Part Hello, I just spoke to your office on the phone about passing along this information to the members of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board and Design Review Board, ahead of their joint meeting this evening. Dick Canfield (who's out of state right now) prepared the attached files (one text, four jpg). They reflect concerns about ADUs in the historic districts; Dick is hoping to generate a conversation on these concerns within the HPAB and DRB. Please contact Dick directly with any questions; his email address is above in this header, and his phone is 406 579- 9095. Thanks very much for your help. Sincerely, Dean Littlepage, for Dick Canfield Historic Preservation Advisory Board Public Comment, November 16, 2016 My name is Richard Canfield. I live at 726 S. Third Ave, in the Bon Ton Historic District. I am a member of SCAN's Steering Committee and the Bozeman Preservation Advocacy Group (BPAG) although I speak today as an individual. This public comment relates to Infill & Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Obviously those of us who support historic preservation are well aware of Bozeman’s Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) Guidelines, dated January 17th, 2006, whose stated purpose is “… to preserve the integrity of its individual historic structures and the character of its streetscapes that are unique or irreplaceable assets to the City and its neighborhoods”. The NCOD guidelines have played a central role in the formation of a vibrant downtown commercial core, charming and livable neighborhoods which attract new business and quality industry, and a major positive impact on the economy through tourism. My comment today is motivated by two documents: • The Makers Architecture and Urban Design (City consultants) report "Bozeman Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Recommendations / Considerations", dated October 21, 2016. • The City's November 11th Nextdoor distribution about ADUs and a survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P8SLQRJ. I am very concerned with several recommendations / questions that appear in both of these two documents that seem quite inconsistent with the basic tenets of the NCOD. These recommendations are cast in the form of questions in the survey: • The code limits ADU floor area to 600 square feet above garages and 800 square feet within a primary dwelling. Should the code allow ADUs larger than 600 square feet? • The code requires detached ADUs to be located above a garage. Should the code allow ground floor detached ADUs? • The code requires a minimum 6000 square foot lot to construct an ADU. Should the minimum lot size be reduced for ADUs? • Should it be necessary for an ADU to be subordinate to the primary dwelling? Historic Preservation Advisory Board Public Comment, November 16, 2016 When I put the consultant's recommendations together with the City's survey questions, I become quite concerned that I have not seen any single document that clearly states the preliminary thinking of the City planning staff. My concerns are not arbitrary or capricious. I illustrate this point with four photographs of real-world problems that justify my focus on the architectural integrity of the individual historic structures and the character of the streetscapes within the NCOD. These images illustrate a variety of historic preservation failures within the Bon Ton Historic District within a few blocks of my home. Two of the images show ADUs that do not preserve the integrity of individual structures, one of long standing and the other built just three years ago. The other two images illustrate harm to the character of the streetscapes of the Bon Ton Historic District through a two-bedroom ADU with too many occupants, each of whom has a car, and the directly-related issue of inadequate on-site parking due to adherence to an unrealistic one-car-per-ADU standard, which leads directly to the depicted safety issues for cyclists and pedestrians. At this time the UDC update process regarding Infill and ADUs is in high gear. Time is of the essence. According to Tom Rogers' Bozeman UDC Code Update Review and Adoption Schedule dated October 28th, Infill Provisions for ADUs will be presented to various committees & boards starting on Dec 13th, culminating with the City Commission on January 9th. I do not see on his schedule a presentation to the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board, yet I see several code changes as directly harmful to historic preservation throughout the NCOD. As soon as possible, I request that you insert yourselves into the process of evaluating the City's Infill Provisions for ADUs from the point of view of historic preservation, to say nothing of public safety. Thank you.