HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-17 Public Comment - R. Irish- SoBo LoftsTo Planning Department, Community Development, City Commission And All Others Who
May Be Involved:
Hello! My name is Renee Irish, and I have lived in Bozeman, for almost 20 years, and have
owned my house on the opposite corner of the block, where Pizza Hut now stands for the last
almost 15 years. My house is historic and was built around 1889. It originally was more of a
salt box shape, and had an outhouse, chicken coop, and the carriage house which is still
standing! Around 1905, it had the first floor addition, and in 2007, after waiting almost a year
and a half, we had approval for the second storey addition, which we made tie in beautifully with
the original character of the house. We have had a few money problems, due to health problems
in the past few years, however; we have been lovingly restoring our beautiful historic home that
was purchased in the area that was entitled historic conservation/overlay district. Along Olive
Street, the south side of our house, lined with huge Patmore Green Ash trees,( in fact the one on
the corner is the tallest in downtown Bozeman), is one of the reasons why I bought into this
neighborhood; because one it had historic house charm, secondly, it was two blocks from Cooper
Park, thirdly it was located in the "CONSERVATION HISTORIC OVERLAY DISTRICT", and
last but not least the beautiful trees!
Why am I telling you this...several reasons. First of all, I do not have a driveway. I have to
park on the street. We did carve out one space off the CRAZY ally to park one car next to our
Carriage house. It is crazy because it is super tight. It also T's and the poor City Garbage man
has excellent driving skills because he has to back in to pick up the garbage. Unless you have a
very small vehicle, not a truck or Suburban, you cannot drive through our ally due to the super
tight turn, and poor sight line. So, one of the points I am trying to make is that a lot of these
older homes, there are no driveways and so you must park on the street. On the street, our cars
have been hit at least once if not twice a year. We have lost at least 14 side view mirrors, and
our cars have been hit due to drunk drivers leaving the bars. PARKING IS ALREADY A
MAJOR ISSUE; IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME TRY TO PARK ON OUR STREET
THURSDAY, FRIDAY, OR SATURDAY NIGHTS OR ANY NIGHT THERE IS A MAJOR
EVENT DOWNTOWN! We have called the Police, and there really is not much they can do
about parked cars getting hit unless the city installs cameras on the street; so parking on the street
we just have to deal with the consequences.
Now for the proposed SOBO building! First of all a lot of people were not notified of the up
and coming density and historic changes. Not enough people were properly notified. Also, the
letter was pretty confusing, in the way it was worded to sneak in more people. Now, I agree that
the Pizza Hut is an eye sore. It needs to go! It would be absolutely fantastic if a single dwelling
residence was put there that tied in with the rest of the neighborhood. Since, the person who
owns the lot wants to make more money and a profit, they want to build a large dorm-like
building with 41 units! THIS IS NOT OK! First of all this specific intersection, cannot handle
that many people and units! The proposed area is less than one full city block and you want to
jam 41 units in! The reality of the 41 units are that they will be high -end,
new construction. They will not be truly affordable for a single person unless they are going to
be $700.00 or less a month to rent. If they are more than that, then the majority of units will
have two people living in them! That equals around 82 people! 82 people cannot live in that
space and if all 82 people own one car- where are all those cars going to be parked? Plus, there
are going to be commercial spaces on the bottom floor? Where are all those people that work
there and then the shoppers/customers, where are they going to park? Honestly, somebody needs
to camp out on that spot for 24 hours from Thursday late night to Saturday morning and observe
the amount of traffic from the bars and neighborhood and all the problems that already exist.
The next problem, with that amount of people and the parking problem is the traffic? It is a
one way and there are already traffic accidents there and people leaving the bars. Check out the
traffic study sort of done. There is no way 41-100 more vehicles of people who either live there
or are going to shop there are going to work! It is going to be a nightmare, and people are going
to try and dart out of the crazy ally which has horrible site lines as is! Try it especially when
there is a lot of ice! Another problem is the sewer systems! Every week the City of Bozeman
blocks off the street to clear clogged pipes! I've chatted with them, and they have told me that it
is due to this area having one of the oldest pipelines in the area for water/sewer; and it is
constantly getting clogged and so every week they come and help drain it! 41 -81 more people,
the pipes will most likely burst!
So, another factor, the charm factor. Yes, Bozeman is growing! Yes, Pizza Hut needs to
go! I hope those huge trees on the lot are not taken down! The city gave me a hard time with
MY ADDITION! All additions were to be to the rear of the building!!!!But I live on the
corner? We got the addition done, and we made it tie in beautifully, while we are restoring our
beautiful Victorian style farmhouse! So, SOBO building needs to be only 3 storeys high, not a
high rise! It would be wonderful if it was a single dwelling, or even a cute duplex, or even four
homes! At the most: it should have half the number of occupants living there; 20! Honestly, 20
is more than that area can handle, but it is half of the 41 proposed units which will not
work. PLEASE, PLEASE...COME CAMP DOWN HERE AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY
HAPPENING ON THIS CORNER; 41 UNITS WILL BE A NIGHTMARE!
Alright, I have said what I needed to say. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns,
please feel free to contact or come down and visit me. I appreciate you listening to all that I have
said.
Sincerely,
Renee Irish
123 S.7th Ave.
reneeirish71@gmail.com