HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-08-17 Public Comment - J. Wilkinson - Black Olive IIFrom:Jeanne Wilkinson
To:Agenda
Subject:Black Olive II 17265 Public Comment
Date:Saturday, July 8, 2017 3:53:19 PM
To: The Design Review Board
CC: City Commissioners, and Community Development Director and Staff:
Re: Black Olive II 17265
Thank you for your previous denial of the Olive and Black project. I urge you to deny the
second iteration of this project -Black Olive II 17265. The issues remain the same, however
the issue I am emphasizing now is the fact that this project site, despite what the Staff Report
states, is in fact located within a historic district and therefore historic preservation principles
should apply. Furthermore, the single family and two family residential use surrounding the
project site needs to be considered when determining allowable mass, height, scale and
context of the proposed project.
Pages 1 and 18 of the Staff Report, state the project is not located within a historic district.
According to the City of Bozeman Map, this is not true. Please see this link:
https://gisweb.bozeman.net/Html5Viewer/?viewer=planning . The Olive and Black project
site is encompassed, at least partially, by the South Tracy Historic District. Additionally, it
directly abuts single family and two family residences. For these two reasons, the size and
scale of the building need to be considered. Just because the City has not yet completed the
detailed planning necessary to address zone edge transitions and transitions in and adjacent
to historic districts does not mean we just have to accept whatever a developer proposes.
The Olive and Black project at 47 units, and five stories is visually incompatible with the
neighboring buildings and destroys the historic relationships within the district.
Furthermore, the staff report states on pages 16, 17, and 18 that the project is in compliance
with the Bozeman Guidelines for Historic Preservation and the Neighborhood Conservation
Overlay District (NCOD Guidelines) Introduction and Chapter 2. This is not true. Page 14 of
the NCOD guidelines states “For new projects within a historic district, the design guidelines
for all properties will apply, as well as those for specific character areas and historic districts.
The guidelines will be applied more rigorously in this case.” Further included on this same
page, the guidelines state that the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation
of Historic Properties should be considered when applying the design guidelines to historic
properties in Bozeman. These standards state the following on page 80 – Setting District or
Neighborhood: “Recommended – New work should be compatible with the historic character
of the setting in terms of size, scale, design, material, color, and texture. Not Recommended –
Introducing new construction into historic districts that is visually incompatible or that
destroys historic relationships within the setting.”
Not only does the Staff Report ignore the fact this project overlaps a historic district and the
related guidelines such proximity brings, it emphasizes all the planning documents that
rationalize density and infill. Such either/or interpretations are contrary to a healthy
community. Saving everyday places, like the Olive and Black neighborhood and South Tracy
Historic District, play a role and matter not only to the people that live there, but to the
economic and cultural vitality of the entire community.
Thank you,
Jeanne Wilkinson
415 South 3rd Ave.