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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-09-17 Public Comment - L. Kirk - Black Olive IILisa Bithell Kirk 227 East Olive Street Bozeman MT 59715 4 April 2017 The Honorable Mayor Taylor Members of the Bozeman City Commission Tonight I wear many hats as I ask you to oppose the Black Olive project….Bogert Park Neighborhood Association, Save Bozeman, and my own, as owner of a residential home adjacent to the B3 halo. Hundreds BPNA members will be impacted by the ultra-modern, oversized, and parking-limited Black Olive 2.0 building. Last year, we counted cars and requested a Residential Parking District for our neighborhood, to address parking pressure from residential highrises which require only 1 parking space per multi-driver household. Our request was deferred without a formal response, in spite of the fact that Commissioner Pomeroy sees this as a way to mitigate the parking impacts of the Black Olive project. I remind you that BPNA members have identified historic character, neighborhood pride, open space, safety, dark and quiet as unique and valuable attributes essential to preserve with infill growth. Potential impacts we believe must be avoided include: • Loss of historical architectural character and context through construction of large, impersonal, industrial and/or homogenous buildings • Lack of adequate resident parking • Non-resident owners and disengaged neighbors who do not care to be responsible, personable or respectful • Loss of viewshed, including sky and sunshine • Overtaxed (existing, e.g., sewers) and inadequate (needed, but non-existing infrastructure, e.g. cross walks, improved parks,) • Increased noise, traffic, congestion, crime, trash and pollution Your prior rejection of this project honored BPNA concerns and we thank you. Dep. Mayor Andrus recognized the project’s lack of compatibility with the historic neighborhoods, and its intrusive mass and scale which is not compatible with the setting. Commissioner Kraus recognized that too much is packed on the site, which would fail to fit into the street scape, as required by the NCOD. These statements remain true for Black Olive 2.0. Mayor Taylor recognized the inadequacy of parking – also still true, because national averages suggest that over 60 cars would unbalance the already tight but functional neighborhood parking resources. I refer you to Save Bozeman’s reanalysis of the 2016 data in August 2017. On behalf of Save Bozeman, I remind you that you have the authority to reject this proposal, supported by the MT Supreme Court decision regarding Town and Country proposal in 2005. Black Olive 1.0, project may meet the minimal height, setback, and parking requirements of the Subchapter 4B --- guidelines that were recently affirmed in the face of widespread community opposition-- but it fails to meet the intent of the remainder of Chapter 4 and the overall NCOD itself. In the words of Mayor Taylor, “building at a density level that works and is compatible and contextual with the neighborhood surroundings is very important”. This is the wrong building for this location, and jamming in buildings like it around the downtown halo is the wrong solution to growth in Bozeman. We need affordable projects like the one recently completed on Oak, better transit and bike access, improved infrastructure, and policies that incentivize adequate housing inventory and the development of downtown with transitions (not zone edges) that protect the community character of Bozeman.