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Home My WebLink About03-08-17 Public Comment - E. Darrow & J. Walseth- SoBo LoftTo: Martin Matsen, Mayana Rice, City Commission of Cityof Bozeman RE: SoBo Lofts Pizza Hut --Violates NCOD scale, design and traffic We write to you in regard to the proposed development of an apartment block on West Babcock at the location of the defunct Pizza Hut. The forlorn plastic-adorned structure now empty and derelict at that location is proof that people with good intentions, or a misguided vision of Bozeman that did not come to pass-- following the letter of the law, can allow something truly ugly and regrettable to take up valuable space in our beautiful town. But time has passed since that error, and we have learned that the rustic small-town qualities--residential neighborhood with tree-lined streets--what most people now recognize as a wonderful human scale of living-- can be swept away in a veritable blink of an eye. SoBo Lofts-Pizza Hut as designed is incompatible and will not make life better in Bozeman. It is another example of hasty development that does not have a proper Community Involvement Plan, reflected in the confusing announcement which did not even reach all stakeholders that a planned "North 7th Ave Corridor "midtown" Rezoning" meant that the NCOD and all it stands for in neighborhood protection and quality of life would be swept away for out of scale mid and high-rise generic apartment blocks. Density is not the only value —and we are not opposed to the development at the Pizza Hut site- but we reject the proposed SoBo Lofts that will add more that 400 more car trips a day spilling out on a one-way street already busy, forcing cars into alleys and quiet residential streets and also into circuitous routes at the 8th Ave boulevard. This is not good engineering. Also the 41 one-bedroom units make this building a dormitory rather than a place where people will live for years. We propose that the SoBo Lofts be three-stories, with aesthetic compatibility to neighborhood character in Cooper Park Historic District and overlay and contain 20 units of varying sizes. Thank you. Elizabeth Darrow Jim Walseth 603 West Babcock -- Confidentiality Notice: This electronic message may contain confidential information, intended only for the use of the individual named in the message header. If you have received this electronic message in error, please delete this e-mail and notify the sender immediately.