HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-13-17 Public Comment - E. Stephenson - Black Olive II1
Clerk Temp
From:Ellen Stephenson <hands4xover@yahoo.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June 13, 2017 9:06 AM
To:Agenda
Subject:Written letter of "Public Comment" on Black Olive & "Review Authority"
Categories:Public Comment
Dear City Commissioners.
cc: Planning Department AND Design Review Board.
Please see that this written public comment be forwarded to all parties in this planning process.
Thank you, again, for opportunity to speak and present public comment, specifically with my request to please
have The City Commission reclaim review authority on this project.
Sincerely,
Ellen Stephenson
Public Comment for 6/12/17 Commission to Claim Authority for BO Decision
On behalf of numerous citizens and myself, I’d like thank the Mayor and Commissioners for your service to Bozeman. We
also are grateful for this opportunity to make public comment.
As you’re aware, a revised Black Olive application has been submitted for design review and consideration. We had
hoped the developer would respond to the hundreds of citizen’s who gave input on the project’s initial design. However,
after the previous project proposal was rejected by the Design Review Board in March and this City Commission in April,
little has been changed in response to citizens, stake holders and neighborhoods.
In fact, the proposed development has become even more intrusive with a larger footprint and the same height as before.
While the number of units has been decreased by increasing the number of bedrooms per unit, the number of bedrooms
has only decreased by 6. The resulting parking issues still remain and are not resolved by this new design. The proposed
larger footprint also continues to contradict the City Commissions contention that Black Olive is “overbuilt for the site.” The
new design also continues to be unresponsive to the Design Review Board which pointed out -- on numerous occasions --
that the building mass, scale and design “lack transition to and compatibility with the context and character of the
bordering neighborhoods.”
The project is precedent-setting for its size and location and will impact Bozeman’s character-defining downtown
neighborhoods. The “overfill” and “5 stories of south-facing balconies” will result in a loss of residential privacy and will
exacerbate an already difficult parking situation for the entire downtown area.
The Black Olive development is a tipping point project. If approved, this project will have subsequent developers
pointing to it and saying “they did it and so can we.” Many people in the neighborhoods adjacent to the commercial halo
area and beyond are poised and ready to comment publicly as part of the review process.
Therefore, we officially request that the City Commission exercise its authority to make the final decision regarding the
approval or denial of the proposed Black Olive development project. Please reclaim the review authority for this project
and continue to give the Bozeman citizens a public opportunity to weigh in on the controversial, precedent-setting Black
Olive development.
Thank you.
2
Ellen Stephenson
226 E. Koch, Apt. B
Bozeman, MT 58715