HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-15-17 Public Comment - G. Stephens - Black OliveDear Commissioners,
I write to urge you to reject the BlackOlive project in its current form.
Andy Halloran should have known from well before he designed BlackOlive that the building violates
Bozeman zoning laws in its excessive scale and size next to an historic residential neighborhood. The
City’s Design Review Board has now twice ruled exactly that. The community has also made it very clear
that BlackOlive is in violation of our community rules. And yet Halloran has made no attempt
whatsoever to adjust the scale and size of the building to comply with our standards, which he could
have done with relatively small modifications. He has instead brazenly flaunted our rules and made a
mockery of our community. The decision the City Commission makes on BlackOlive will have profound
implications for our future. Are we going to stand up and defend the reasonable rules that we
established to maintain balanced growth? Or are we going to allow outsiders to come in and brazenly
ignore our rules for their own profit? Are we, the citizens of this community – through our elected
representatives - going to determine the future of our city? Or are we going to hand that over to
developers who do not appear to care one bit about the qualities that make this community so special?
Thank you for your careful consideration of this project and the future of our city.
Yours sincerely,
Geoffrey Stephens
205 S.Church Ave,
Bozeman, MT 59715
917-301-9496