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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-12-17 Public Comment - HJ Schmidt - UDC Update, ADUs G . II - VAL- My name is HJ Schmidt, and I live at 715 South Grand Ave I grew up in Bozeman, and have been in my house for over twenty years. I am here in support of allowing detached ADUs I will also comment on a development trend that is altering the character of our historic neighborhoods. In the last few years, 4 houses nearby have been "renovated" in a manner that adds on to the original house creating one continuous structure from the front setback to the rear setback. For over 100 years, the character of the downtown neighborhoods has been to have a main house to the front of the lot, with a backyard and often a garage on the alley. There is no precedent for lots to have front setback to alley setback development. This type of development blocks site lines, blocks solar access for gardens, fractures neighborhoods, and, in my opinion breaks down the neighborliness that comes from seeing and talking to your neighbors over a backyard fence. There are specific rules governing ADUs and secondary structures involving view, sheds, solar access, height and style restrictions. To my knowledge these rules don't ►� yN" apply to extending an existing structure to the alley. If you live in an R1 or RS neighborhood platted before 1997, you can't have an ADU above a detached garage. However you can have an ADU if you connect your house all the way across your yard to your alley garage. The same situation occurs if you have a single story house. You can't build a detached structure that is higher than your house, so you can't put an ADU over a detached garage. However, you can connect your house over the entire lot and then build above the garage because the height restriction no longer applies. The current rules encourage this type of development. Even though it's more impactful and more expensive than renovating detached structures, If the only way you can have an ADU is to have it within the main dwelling, people will develope this way. A solution to this to eliminate detached+ADU`rtest�rict�+�sG� 5���c.�u� -b be - Even �O�O o f �� 'f li `f'NV Even f yoult take ADUs out of the equation, this type of development will likely continue because the people who will be able to afford to buy in the historic neighborhoods will want bigger houses, and it will be a way to get around height, style, veiwshed and solar restrictions. I don't have a solution to this short of a rule requireing a full width backyard in addition to setbacks. Our taxes have been rising dramatically over the past few years. If this trend continues we, and many of our neighbors will be priced out of our homes unless we can create additional income streams. It is our hope to remain in our house when we retire. A more flexible ADU regime might allow this for a number of households, and it would add housing stock in an environment where affordable housing is a real issue. If this sort of solution isn't available my guess is that within fifteen years the R1 historic neighborhoods will be an enclave in which only the extremely wealthy will be able to afford to live.