HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-06-17 Public Comment - B. Segal - Black Olive IIBlack Olive Decision
Dear Mayor Taylor, City Council Members,
I am confused. Mayor Taylor goes out of his way to help cre-
ate opposition to the Black Olive Project over a year ago by help-
ing the Southside Neighborhood become informed about the
process (leading to the creation of “Save Bozeman”), then says
this projects and others like it, are this answer to local and global
problems. He finishes last week and after voting again to lift the
restrictions on the B-3 Zoning, by lecturing downtown residences
who elected him, that we should enjoy our houses for another
few years then think about putting them on the market and mov-
ing on. This is promoting community? I think not.
You tell us that this has been in the works for 60 years, the
plans to expand North-South, and you are merely following the
plan. We did not elect you to just follow along. We elected you to
take us in new directions. Maybe there is a reason why the North-
South expansion is not taking hold after 60 years of planning.
Maybe we should pay attention to why, and alter the course in-
stead of just following old intentions. Growth could eat us alive,
bankrupt the city, especially when you take away that which
made us grow, a lovely well planned, small city USA. Everybody
pushing this growth plan has something to gain from it, including
the planning department itself, whose jobs depend on growth.
Sustainability is the healthy state of a dynamic environment.
It does not require growth. What does require growth? Profit, big
profit, from out of town and within town. I see the city council
working from fear based policies, and hence making fear based
decisions. You are following policies that people in Boulder now
regret they adopted. Meanwhile, in Washington DC, they decided
to keep the Halo buildings low so that the downtown area still
feels like an old town. It has worked out great and tourism is up.
Why are we doubling down on high rise density, when the county
gives us no assurances that this will ease sprawl?
After all the meetings, there is still no plan evolving for view
and solar access takings. We must address these issues before
there is no view left. I am a builder and developer myself, and
this talk that the building needs to be 5 stories tall to be econom-
ically viable (immensely profitable) is total bull. I do believe that
Halloran made plenty of money on Block M. I do believe that he
made much more money on Building 5. We have all said from the
beginning, “put in another Block M, and we’ll all go home.” I my-
self would happily accept a 3 story building in this spot. Every de-
veloper knows that if you just have to do one foundation and one
roof, all the profit is in how many stories you can squish in be-
tween.
The last time you killed this project, your legal cover was
that it did not meet the parking requirements. But, what most of
you talked about was the “wrong project for the site, the project
is overbuilt for the site.” Do you have the courage now to stick up
for those real reasons? Why is there so much CYA attitude going
on on city council when I am assured that the city council has a
broad stroke of authority regarding these projects and there is lit-
tle chance of legal challenge against your decision?
The Mayor has said he is making decisions for all Bozeman
citizens. Please pay attention to those of us who elected you and
who live in the affected area, and not the other 80% who could
care less and pay no attention. People who are coming here are
like me, from Walnut Creek California, whose towns adopted the
same growth policies you are now embracing. I left California for
one reason: density.
I urge you to restrict the height of this building to 3 stories,
with or without parking. This is a good compromise. Please put
the good people of Bozeman, not developers, not the Chamber of
Commerce, not the Downtown Business Association (whose
spokesperson does not actually own a downtown business), first.
I realize this has been a long road for all, and the people making
the money will out last those of us who are doing this for love. I
too would feel threatened by the recent lawsuit from Save Boze-
man (the very people who elected you now taking you to court),
and nervous from the more serious threats of developers and big
money. Please take a deep breath, and check in with your emo-
tions, before you make this decision. You do not have to plan for
the whole world, just this little corner of it.
Thanks for listening to your ole buddy,
Brian Segal
315 S Black Ave.