HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-25-17 Public Comment - J. Wilkinson - Black OliveDear City Commissioners and City Employees,
I attended the Design Review Board meeting when the Olive/Black Project proposed by Andy
Holloran was declined. I provided public comment at that meeting and do the same now. I
urge you to also deny this project because the mass, scale, and giant rectangular box design are
totally inappropriate for the site's single to double story, residential, historic, neighborhood
context.
The City report for this project states that it is in conformance with the Introduction and
Subchapter 2 for All Properties of the Bozeman Guidelines for Historic Preservation and
the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District. If you read these guidelines, you will see, the
developer didn't even come close to conforming. Please consider the descriptions included
in the NCOD Report commissioned by the City in Dec., 2015. According to this report, "...the
guidelines were in response to a recognition of the fragility and vulnerability of Bozeman's
historic, cultural and architectural heritage and the need to promote their significance." The
NCOD report further states, "Subchapter 2 for All Properties were written more loosely and are
designed to encourage respect and consideration of those existing features that make up an
area's context. In a non-historic area, components such as the solid-to-void ratios, fenestration
patterns, building form and compatible material pallet are also given consideration."
The City needs to look at and enforce the broader intent of the Bozeman Guidelines for Historic
Preservation and the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District. The original guidelines were
developed to enforce consideration of Bozeman's heritage, its historic district settings and
neighborhood landscapes when deciding projects like Olive/Black.
Thank you,
Jeanne Wilkinson