HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-17 Public Comment - C. Sack - BlackOliveTo: City Commission
Re: Black Olive Project
March 20, 2017
Dear City Commission:
Please DO NOT approve the Black Olive project. This project is WAY TOO BIG for the existing
neighborhood, is an assault on the current neighbors and should not be approved!
Andy Holloran will be ELIMINATING AN EXISTING PARKING LOT that is located at the former
site of the Big Sky Youth Empowerment building to replace the parking lot with a giant high rise
for Bozeman’s elite (or anyone with money who wishes to live downtown).
TEARING DOWN AN EXISITING PARKING LOT TO BUILD A HIGH RISE SEEMS COUNTER
INTUITIVE TO SOLVING THE PARKING PROBLEM IN DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN.
Black Olive is excessive in scale and is next to the historic residential neighborhood where I
have lived until this project has been proposed and where my family has lived for 25 years. This
project will be in the backyard of my family’s modest home and will block out the light to our
home, eliminate all privacy and our ability to park in front of our home. I feel the residents of
Bozeman deserve the RIGHT TO LIGHT. No one moved to Bozeman to live in a high rise so why
make high rises the future of the city. Bozeman does not need to try and imitate Boulder!
Black Olive is in opposition to our community values and has no place in Bozeman.
I understand infill however at what cost? Mesa Labs just built a gigantic building on farmland
next to Zoot. They took up a huge chunk of fertile land and are bringing most their workers
from CO, NC, and MI. This means more competition for overpriced homes and fewer good
paying jobs for Bozeman residents. Oracle moved 1/3 of their workforce to TX (including my
job) only to open a data center that will only employ around 10 people. Google and Facebook
are trying to do the same thing. This will mean very few jobs for Bozeman residents.
My good paying job has already moved out of state and now some developer is going to take
my house to build housing for out of state residents. THIS IS NOT OK! RESIDENTS WITH
NORMAL BOZEMAN JOBS CANNOT AFFORD TO LIVE IN BLACK OLIVE. BLACK OLIVE IS NOT
INTENTED FOR PEOPLE WITH BOZEMAN JOBS AND IS NOT GOING TO BENEFIT THE RESIDENTS
OF BOZEMAN.
We are being forced out of the house our family has owned for 25 years. No one wants to rent
or buy our house because they are afraid they will not have parking once Black Olive is
approved.
Someone wanted to buy our house and build an additional story. The city told them they
would need to create 3 offsite parking spots to do so. How is it ok then that a developer can
tear down a parking lot, build a high rise with 37 parking spaces for 70+ bedrooms? Don’t they
need offsite parking too? THE BLACK OLIVE PROJECT IS NOT OK!
We were willing to move and find another place in Bozeman to live and Andy Holloran offered
our family way under market value for our home. In fact, we would not even be able to
purchase a townhome in Belgrade with the offer he gave us. The Cromwell’s who live next door
were also willing to sell their home. If Andy wanted to do the right thing and create parking for
his monstrosity, he could already have done so by purchasing the two homes that back up to
his project.
Please do your job and do what is best for the residents of Bozeman. Not for the developers
who are making a mockery of our community. This decision will have major implications for the
future of Bozeman and SHOULD NOT be approved. You can build a home for out of state
residents and trust funders but not at the expense of long-term Bozeman residents who have
been paying taxes and keeping up their properties for years.
Sincerely,
Caressa Bailey Sack
205 S. Bozeman Avenue