HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-28-17 Public Comment - C. Naumann (on behalf of DBID and IDBTIF) - Black OliveFrom:Chris Naumann
To:Agenda
Subject:Public Comment for Black Olive CC 4-3-17
Date:Tuesday, March 28, 2017 5:01:55 PM
Attachments:Black Olive CC Public Comments 4-3-17.pdf
City Clerk and Commissioners,
Please accept the attached document as formal public comment regarding the Black
Olive project to be considered by the City Commission on April 3, 2017.
Please contact me if you have any issues downloading the file or if you prefer a
different file type.
Thank you.
Chris Naumann
Executive Director
Downtown Bozeman Partnership
222 East Main Street #302
Bozeman MT 59715
406-586-4008
www.downtownbozeman.org
March 28, 2017
City Commissioners
Bozeman City Hall
PO Box 1230
Bozeman MT 59715
RE: Black Olive Project Public Comment
City Commissioners:
I am submitting this public comment on behalf of the Downtown Business Improvement District Board
and the Downtown Tax Increment Finance Board. The members of these boards, as appointed by the
City Commission, represent over 175 downtown property owners and property tax payers.
The Downtown Bozeman Business Improvement District (BID) is an organization of downtown
property owners who through thoughtful, pro-active collaboration and partnership with local
government, business owners, residents and citizens strive to create a shared vision and voice for the
community of downtown Bozeman. The BID has a goal of ensuring the long-term preservation and
vitality of the city’s underlying economic, cultural, social and environmental assets.
The Downtown Bozeman Tax Increment Fund (TIF) fosters an economically thriving district that: 1)
attracts investment; 2) stabilizes and strengthens the tax base; and 3) supports the vitality and
diversity of the Gallatin Valley as its social and cultural center.
The Downtown BID and TIF have been involved in downtown planning efforts since 1995. Both
boards will continue to engage downtown stakeholders as the community plans for the future.
Both boards feel it is important to refer to the 2009 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan as the
context by which decisions are made. This neighborhood plan is the product of 20 years of public
planning and serves as our road map as we move forward. Attached is my guest editorial that was
published by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on November 29, 2016. It summarizes the basic tenets of
the Downtown Plan and explains the dynamics at the heart of downtown growth and prosperity.
Thank your consideration of these comments.
Chris Naumann, Executive Director
We Cannot Afford to Take Downtown For Granted
Chris Naumann, Executive Director
Downtown Bozeman Partnership
Downtown Bozeman has long been recognized as the “heart and soul” of our city and the entire
Gallatin Valley, and is arguably the most vibrant downtown in Montana. In fact, many communities
across the intermountain West envy Bozeman for its great downtown. But as the adage says we
cannot rest on our laurels.
Downtown Bozeman’s long standing vitality and success has not happened by accident or chance.
The foundation of Downtown Bozeman’s success has been literally built from decades of private
investment by property owners. Not only have they rehabilitated and maintained downtown’s historic
buildings but they have also constructed numerous new buildings over time.
This high level of property owner investment has engendered a tremendous amount of citizen
involvement in every aspect of downtown. From attending events on Main Street, to patronizing
downtown’s businesses, to being civically involved in the public process, the citizens of Bozeman
have long championed downtown.
Another common thread that has played a role in weaving downtown’s golden fabric is a long history
of proactive urban planning. Thoughtful and deliberate planning yields a strategic regulatory
framework that not only protects the existing beneficial attributes of a great downtown but also
enables and encourages desirable types of new development.
The vision of today’s downtown began over 50 years ago with the designation of the B3 zoning
district. This unique zoning boundary created a geography by which downtown would be more than
just the Main Street Historic District by growing primarily to the north and south. The B3 Downtown
zoning allows downtown to physically grow in breadth (north and south) so as maintain a compact
walkable downtown district.
As Bozeman continued to grow and evolve, the 1995 Downtown Urban Renewal Plan recognized, “a
paradigm change in planning, regulatory practice, administrative procedures, transportation design,
and overall community design is occurring…it is imperative that this change be fostered to stimulate
continuing private investment”. This paradigm shift was further defined by the 1998 Downtown
Improvement Plan and 2001 update of the Bozeman growth policy.
Building upon those earlier plans, the 2009 Downtown Improvement Plan defines downtown’s place
in the face of rapid population growth and the changing economy. The plan relies on well-founded
urban planning tenets such as downtown should be the location of Bozeman’s tallest buildings;
parking should not govern development potential; and the historic core should be protected but other
areas should accommodate contemporary development.
Despite its thriving outward appearance, the viability of downtown stores and restaurants are fragile
as they compete with other local and regional commercial districts and the on-line shopping race to
the bottom. The recent closures and relocations of several cornerstone stores and restaurants
demonstrate that staying in business downtown is challenging.
While Bozeman residents have long supported downtown, businesses simply need more new
customers to thrive. Often, some of their best customers are the ones that live and work closest to
their front doors. The traditional neighborhoods surrounding downtown are critically important to
downtown’s success, but they house fewer people than they once did and all residents have more
competing choices for their needs.
The City of Bozeman’s Economic Development Plan identifies downtown as the “ideal” place to do
business. Much of this desire is being driven by the “new” economy’s tech sector. These high-growth
companies want to be downtown, not only will that require more office space but also more downtown
housing. The largest demographic in Bozeman—and the entire country—is Millennials and they want
to work and live downtown.
The Downtown Plan anticipated what we are now experiencing with the acknowledgement that
“downtown is front line economic development”. To continue to support downtown’s traditional
economy and take advantage of the “new” live-work economy, hundreds of new residential units need
to be built downtown. The Downtown Plan emphatically states “to be vital and sustainable over time,
housing should be developed in great numbers and varieties…the very future of downtown is
dependent upon the successful development of housing”.
Change is inevitable and can be hard to accept. But the Downtown Plan strategically guides change
that will create jobs, provide housing, and perpetuate the social, cultural and economic vitality
Bozeman has come to expect. Downtown’s future is dependent on this bold vision that continues to
build upon a long history of proactive planning which in turn invites further private investment. We
cannot afford to simply sit back and take downtown for granted.
**Submitted to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and printed on 11-29-17