HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-29-17 Public Comment - B. Maxwell - North Park and M-1 ZoningFrom:Blake Maxwell
To:Agenda; Martin Matsen; Brit Fontenot
Subject:North Park and M-1 zoning
Date:Friday, September 29, 2017 12:24:53 PM
Dear Mr. Mayor and Bozeman City Commissioners,
I’d like to note my appreciation for the Bozeman City Commission’s recent decision to change
course for the regulation of North Park.
Since our mayor and commissioners all have extensive business experience, I’m not surprisedat how well you’ve pivoted from an impinged direction to a new way with several paths to
success. Certainly, the transition of the Mandeville farm out of agriculture has encounteredreal obstacles, but the nexus of a major commercial corridor for Bozeman, a direct route to the
airport, great interstate access, plus all those existing businesses and manufacturers, rendersthe prospects for new economic success difficult to dismiss.
While the commission’s focus is there, I wanted to draw attention to a conflict between this
zone and another issue where our community struggles: affordable housing. Please note herethat M-1 zoning does allow housing—so long as it is less than 50% of the constructed square-
footage and generally not allowed on the entry level—but the current affordable housingmandate, written too broadly, creates a large impediment to true “live-work” units.
While breakfast over a working shop may not compare well with your own career launches,
this is a very attractive option to emerging entrepreneurs in the Gallatin Valley and many othercommunities—especially those like Bozeman with a high cost of housing and a corps of
startups. By combining the expenses for housing and commercial space, it’s a way to savemoney, and therefore, is in high-demand for those otherwise locked out at both doors.
To be specific about the code, an M-1 development of any scale-beneficial size is nowrequired to develop “affordable” single-family homes—a housing form entirely impermissible
in M-1 zoning. Thusly, the prospective mixed-use developer would have to acquire propertyin a different part of Bozeman, one zoned residential, and then bring to market a single-family
home for every 9 live-work units produced. In one such example in Bozeman this summerwhere I was professionally involved, the result was that the proposal was scrapped, meaning
no new live-work or affordable properties at all. Here, not only were the developer andowners impinged, but also the entrepreneurs looking to launch their next great idea as well as
a City striving to cultivate small businesses.
It’s clear that another pivot is needed: the Bozeman City Commission should removeproperties zoned M-1 from the parameters of the affordable housing mandate. Otherwise, we
leave in place a superfluous governmental obstacle to a burgeoning marketplace, includingthose endeavoring to find traction for their professional and residential hopes.
Thank you,
Blake Maxwell
516 W Lamme Street, Bozeman