HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-17 Public Comment - S. Held - North Grand HousingTo: City of Bozeman Department of Community Development
From: Suzanne Held, 313 N Grand Avenue, Bozeman, MT 59715
RE: CUP Application 17186
I am writing regarding the North Grand Housing Application 17186. I live on the same block as
the development, at 313 N. Grand Avenue. I am writing to encourage that this application be
reclaimed/denied. I have reviewed the Bozeman Guidelines for Historic Preservation & The
Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) and attended meetings so that I can better
learn about guidelines and regulations regarding development in the City of Bozeman.
I visited the planning department office to look at the North Grand Housing plan and visited
with my neighbors about this issue. I have not spoken with any neighbors who shared that they
are in favor of the plans that have been submitted. All are opposed to the plan.
The first two sentences in the introduction of the NCOD state that:
Historic preservation and neighborhood conservation are well‐established parts of city
planning in Bozeman. Over the past decades, the community has initiated preservation
initiatives to protect the many historic districts and older traditional neighborhoods that
remain as reminders of the City’s heritage.
Our neighborhood is an older traditional neighborhood. The home that is at 301 N. Grand was
built before 1900 and it fits in with the character of the neighborhood. What is planned does
not fit in with or add to the neighborhood character. Rather, it significantly detracts from the
neighborhood character. I visited with Heather Davis, the representative from Intrinsik
Architecture, the architectural firm for this project. She asked if I had comments and I shared
with her that I looked at the plans and do not feel that what is planned fits into the character of
the neighborhood. She replied that the design is “what they [Intrinsik] do.” I do not feel that
this is a justifiable reason to accept these plans.
I understand that the space that is proposed for development is zoned B‐3 and that a 5
condominium building is within legal rights of what can be built in that space. It’s an odd block
on which we live, with half of the block zoned R4 and half zoned B3. The entire block is
composed of single family residences. This zoning seems incompatible with what is in the NCOD
and in Bozeman’s unified development code with regards to a congruent neighborhood feel. In
a recent meeting that I attended about the Bozeman development code update, the presenter
discussed how new construction should be compatible with the existing development. Chapters
2 and 3 of the NCOD provide design guidelines for all properties and for residential character
areas. The guidelines say that development should use building materials that appear similar to
those used traditionally in the area and building materials that contribute to the traditional
sense of scale of the block. What is proposed for 301 N. Grand does neither.
The NCOD guidelines were written to “foster the preservation of historic residential and
commercial districts and to maintain the traditional character of the broader NCOD.” The plan
for 301 N. Grand does not foster the preservation of our district or maintain the traditional
character of our neighborhood. It does exactly the opposite. I ask that due to these reasons
that the plan for North Grand Housing be reclaimed/denied.
Thank you for taking public comment on this issue.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Held, 313 N. Grand Avenue
406‐223‐6321; sznbzn@gmail.com