HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-27-17 Public Comment - E. Darrow- SoBo Lofts (1) 1
March 27, 2017
Dear Commissioner Mehl,
I appreciate your public service very much and know there are many demands on your
political skills and the complex decisions you and the Commission must
negotiate. However, I also believe you will appreciate how deeply and personally Jim
and I are concerned about the proposed "SoBo Lofts-Pizza Hut" project at S. 7th Ave
and West Babcock and its effects on our lives-- the historic core of the Cooper Park
Historic District and its close residential overlay that deserve serious study and review
from the Commission now.
This is a crucial watershed time for the preservation of Bozeman amidst a growth period
and we understand very clearly and at great depth all the arguments about "density not
sprawl" or a "new urbanism"--some of which is promoted by developers who have no
vested interest in maintaining and preserving-- when their bottom line is profit--leaving
behind massive generic apartment blocks and commercial spaces with no character no
design or zoning transitions and buffers to core traditional neighborhoods.
If density is the only value than why not promote 30 story buildings all over Bozeman?
We have worked very hard for almost 20 years to preserve our historic home on W.
Babcock St as others in the neighborhood and The SoBo Lofts and its disappointing
approval from the Planning and Community Development Department, the
misleading Re-zoning process and lack of community involvement, the terrible
traffic study and violations of the NCOD without review by the City Commission
disenfranchises us, degrades the Cooper Park Historic District and overlays--effectively
writes-off West Babcock Street –and treats us like a throw-away street-- a fast ONE
WAY ride downtown--and not a living neighborhood. Rather than recognize our
commitment to maintain and grow the potential in this historic neighborhood-we feel the
city has abandoned us.
We who live on this street and neighborhood request/expect a project that could
relate in scale to its surroundings and history--this is perfectly reasonable--SoBo
Lofts could be 3 stories--have a facade treatment that incorporates an aesthetic respect
for the buffer and transition recommendations for a traditional neighborhood--which the
city itself adopted in its NCOD plan--SoBo could have fewer apartments of various sizes
and not 42 single bedroom units—neighborhoods should not be expected to solve
MSU's lack of appropriate housing for its increased enrollment. Below are my three
areas of grounds for my personal appeal. This development chokes out our quality of
life with cars, commerce and transitory neighbors.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Darrow
603 West Babcock Street
Bozeman, MT 59715
2
Elizabeth Darrow
603 West Babcock Street
Bozeman MT 59715
Grounds for Protest and Personal Appeal:
1 Traffic Study: This study is inadequate—sloppy, useless for projections of traffic
and parking impacts on this neighborhood and surrounding streets. The company is
from Great Falls and does not seem to know this part of town and its parking and traffic
realities. It does not even mention nor are they on maps Olive or Curtis Avenues, two
important residential thoroughfares that feed directly into S. 7th including where this
project is and are the main pathways to 8th Ave and heading south to MSU, but focuses
on Koch which is not the main access. It does not discuss the importance of the
Cooper Park Historic District or the NCOD of city code at all, it does not include in maps
or analysis of an alley that exits the project parking lot that is in a T with another alley
that runs parallel (E & W) to Babcock Street, there are no accumulation counts of cars
numbers at peak hours or other times in the study, only one mention of backups on 8th
Ave—a two-way Boulevard, there is no acknowledgement of the very busy commercial
establishments-- three bars—whose customers’ cars take up the whole street and
parking lots on busy evenings and weekends directly in front of and across the street
from this project. One traffic engineer in a community meeting was dismissive and rude
to residents who asked about turning West Babcock between 5th and 8th Street into
two-way street as a traffic calming-idea (it already is two way from 8th street to 11 th
Street)-- and he also said, “5000 car trips a day is fine –so what is 413 more.”
Obviously he does not care about people who live on West Babcock Street at all.
file:///Users/edarrow/Downloads/Traffic%20Impact%20Study%201.11.17.pdf
2 Misleading “Re-zoning “Midtown” and N. 7th Ave:”
Misleading and inadequate Information and Notification about Rezoning-Midtown and
lack of appropriate informed community involvement about what actually has become
Re-zoning of S. 7th and Cooper Park Historic District and overlays.
Read this please: there is no mention of S 7th or the Cooper Park Historic District
or overlays nor does the public notification mention it.
ftp://ftp.bozeman.net/Planning/Planning_Board/Midtown%20Text%20Amendment%20-
%20Entryway%20Corridor%20Text%20Amendment%20and%20Midtwon%20ZMA.pdf
3 UDC and NCOD: Violations:
The project does not reflect or reference the guidelines or the underlying principals of
the NCOD. Among these:
Pg. 45 B. Street Patterns
Respect historic settlement patterns. • Site a new building such that it is arranged on its
site in a way similar to historic buildings in the area. This includes consideration of
building setbacks and open space.
3
Pg 48: F. Building Form Policy: A similarity of building forms also contributes to a
sense of visual continuity. In order to maintain this sense of visual continuity, a new
building should have basic roof and building forms that are similar to those seen
traditionally. Overall facade proportions also should be in harmony with the context.
Page 49: G. Solid to Void Ratio
Policy: A typical building appeared to be a rectangular solid, with small holes “punched”
in the walls for windows and doors. Most buildings had similar amounts of glass,
resulting in a relatively uniform solid-to-void ratio. This ratio on a new building, the
amount of facade that is devoted to wall surface, as compared to that developed as
openings, should be similar to that of historic buildings within the neighborhood.
See Willson School and new apartments there
Guideline: 1. Use a ratio of solid-to-void (wall-to-window) that is similar to that
found on historic structures in the district. • Large surfaces of glass may be
inappropriate. Divide large glass surfaces into smaller panes similar to those seen
traditionally.
Pg 50: H. Materials
Policy: Building materials of new structures and additions to existing structures should
contribute to the visual continuity of the neighborhood. They should appear similar to
those seen traditionally to establish a sense of visual continuity.
Pg 51: I. Architectural Character
Contemporary interpretations of traditional details are encouraged. • Interpretations of
historic styles may be considered, if they are subtly distinguishable as being new. • New
designs for window moldings and door surrounds, for example, can provide visual
interest while helping to convey the fact that the building is new. Contemporary details
for porch railings and columns are other examples. New soffit details and dormer
designs also could be used to create interest while expressing a new, compatible style.
Was the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board involved in this decision?—
BHPAB Sec. 2.05.930. - Powers and duties.
The historic preservation advisory board shall have the powers and duties to:
c Make recommendations to the appropriate advisory body or decision-making
body concerning any changes or modifications to the zoning regulations and
zoning district boundaries. Transmittal of comments shall be through the historic
preservation officer. If no officer who is responsible for this duty?
d Upon request of the reviewing authority make recommendations to the review
authority regarding zoning applications pertaining to historic properties and which
require public notice. What is the record of public comments for this site