HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-17 Public Comment - S. Mitchell - Black OliveApril 3rd, 2017
Dear Commissioners,
Infill development needs to occur in downtown, but it should be in a manner that benefits the
community as whole, not just the developers’ bottom line. There are many profitable ways the
Black Olive project could be designed without turning the adjacent neighborhood into a parking
lot and reducing parking for local businesses. The Black Olive at its current size, and subsequent
projects in the pipeline threaten to destroy the very qualities that make Bozeman the last best
place.
Car sharing must be a proven concept in Bozeman before it is used to reduce parking
requirements for new development. Car sharing works in urban areas for people who already
live without a car and only need one occasionally. It is not a substitute for owning your own
car. If you can’t walk to a grocery store, chances are you can’t live without a car in Bozeman.
The developer himself has been careful to say car sharing will become viable in the future. Well
what about now? There is no alley between Bozeman and Black and Black only has street
parking on the west curb. Approving this project as is will spill B3 impacts into R2
neighborhoods creating hardships for people who need cars to live on S Bozeman, S Black and
East Olive.
New infill development needs to be in keeping with the historic character and scale of
downtown. If we are going to ignore the DRB, NCO and the Growth Policy then we need do
away with them. New modern large scale high density development should be directed to the N
7th Midtown corridor. Building a new Midtown core that is connected to the Historic
Downtown will create a volume of density that will support a real and complete urban landscape
fostering less car dependence.
I encourage you to use your authority to act in the best interest of the whole community. Many
people have worked long and hard to make Bozeman the special place it is today. Approving
this Overfill project as is will open the flood gates for more overfill that will only congest our
downtown and turn Bozeman into the place everyone is moving here to get away from.
Stewart Mitchell
216 E Koch