HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-28-17 Public Comment - A. May - Black OliveFrom: Allen May [allencmay@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 10:57 PM
To: Chris Mehl
Subject: Black Olive Project
Dear City Commissioners,
Thank you for providing an opportunity to express my support for the Black Olive project. As an 11 year
citizen of Bozeman with an office on West Mendenhall, I am downtown 5-6 days a week for both
personal and professional business. I spend a lot of time and money downtown.
As a career conservationist focused on protecting our open lands and waters, the importance of
promoting and incentivizing high density development in our city is of utmost importance to me. Our
efforts, plans, and investments, both public and private, to support open space and limit carbon
pollution in our city revolve around promoting walkable communities via high density urban infill
development. This objective, as outlined in numerous city vision and planning documents, is becoming
a reality as capital investors are drawn to this progressive vision supported by volunteer citizen efforts
that have established these plans. The Black Olive project in microcosm represents an important
opportunity to support a vibrant downtown, a walkable community that minimizes carbon pollution
through limited vehicular traffic, and an urban strategy to limit the negative impact of unfettered
growth on rural open lands.
I am very concerned that if you disapprove of the Black Olive project, it will have a deleterious impact on
future capital investment in our downtown and the willingness of citizens to engage in processes and
planning efforts that drive a sustainable vision for our city's growth and arguably its most valuable urban
asset, our downtown.
I empathize with the inevitable impact of change on the neighborhood, but frankly arguments over
building aesthetics ring hollow when you consider the building the Black Olive project will replace and
the neighboring buildings on the corners. Concerns over parking seem to be more about the
inconvenience of a relative few who are faced with the potential loss of a defacto public entitlement,
curbside parking. Neither of the above are significant enough, in my opinion, to change the positive
direction our city and downtown is heading as a result of visionary planning and forward thinking capital
investment.
Thank you for your consideration and I urge you to support The Black Olive Project in recognition of its
importance to the "smart growth" development of our city and region.
Sincerely,
Allen May