HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-17 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - Black OliveHI-
I think you're discussing the Black/Olive issue this evening among others. I just want to say that
however this turns out, I hope you will all revisit the building codes so there is absolute clarity
about "how" developers are to build compatible buildings next to older structures. If it's not
clearly spelled out, then there will always be subjective rulings and mis-interpretations.
In the meantime, if there was any ambiguity to the codes tonight, I hope that you voted in favor
of the spirit of blending the new with the old and doing what you can to protect the current
residents. I say this primarily in reflection of how the spirit of the code was not followed with
the initial Tap Room approvals. I understand that the meeting then was lightly attended, but
residents may not always be able to be watchdogs and need to count on you to capture the spirit
of the codes/rules.
We moved out of downtown due to the growth of multiple -unit buildings coming into our old
neighborhood but not everyone can afford to or wants to uproot themselves. We certainly didn't
want to move out of downtown, but felt pushed by the growth. Not only were we losing our
quality of life there we were also greatly concerned about our financial investment tanking.
Since building a home in the "suburb" of Legends, we have struggled first hand with building
"guidelines". While we followed them, others did not. Guidelines are not very enforceable in
general. Hopefully, between the Tap Room and Black/Olive conflicts the planning department
and city commission can have a thorough review of codes and come up with hard line rules to be
followed regarding parking, building heights, and allowable designs when adjacent to single
family homes.
One thing to look at is the parking. Car sharing seems somewhat bogus to me. I loved walking
and biking while living downtown but without real bus transportation into the mountains and
many, many more stops along the way to various locations around town, it is impossible to live
and recreate in Bozeman without a car. And once Heebs moves, there will only be one grocery
store left downtown - the Coop- a lovely but unrealistic option for all downtowners.
Good luck tonight, I hope you keep the true downtowners in mind. Think about what
responsibility the city commission has to help protect the quality of life of the people that make
up the backbone of downtowners?
Best regards,
Marcia Kaveney