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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-17 Public Comment - A. Breuer - PLI Zoning, Bozeman School DistrictFrom:Abigail Breuer To:Agenda Subject:PLI Zoning/Bozeman School District (agenda item #7) Date:Monday, November 13, 2017 2:34:11 PM Attachments:BHS Neighborhood Concerns_Overview_Feb 2016.docx Dear City Commissioners, I anticipate speaking to the City Commission tonight regarding the upcoming PLI zoning change on behalf of the Bozeman School District. While I cannot evaluate the merits of the changes proposed for the second high school property, as a neighbor to Bozeman High School on North 11th Avenue, I am highly aware of the impacts of living adjacent to PLI zoned property owned by the Bozeman School District. In my experience, the District has used its exemption from the UDO to make a number of changes along North 11th Avenue that conflict with reasonable and customary planning practices. The ‘new’ North 11th entrance to BHS—which lacks both a setback from neighbors and a standard pick up and drop off area—along with the addition of unscreened parking lots, dumpsters, and a delivery area, has turned my formerly-pleasant residential neighborhood (zoned R1 and R4) into an unregulated service alley for BHS. As strange as it seems, North 11th Avenue is now less safe, less functional and less attractive than the parking lots of Safeway or Wal-Mart. The absence of standard planning—for example, no other Bozeman school entrance has been built without a pick up and drop off area in 25 years—and resulting impacts are detailed in short-form in the attachment. Please know that my formerly up- and-coming street, in which a new generation of families was steadily making improvements, is now reverting to rentals. I believe this is a direct result of the District’s actions. While neighbors and I have made concerted attempts to communicate our concerns in hope of working with the District to develop solutions since 2013, we have not been able to engage as stakeholders in a number of planning processes that affect us, despite ongoing and repeated requests. We have made presentations to the School Board, sent in petitions, and engaged in over 50 pages of correspondence with various District representatives. Yet, we remain without a forum to move toward positive change; in fact, a long-awaited meeting with School officials initially offered for January 2017 continues to be postponed. Several North 11th neighbors have been in touch with City representatives with responsibilities in planning, parking, economic development, and neighborhoods in addition to members of the City Commission. In each case we have been told the City has limited means to influence the District, in spite of the fact that City streets are involved, and that public safety and economic development are at risk. I certainly hope the City Commission can help me and my neighbors to achieve better public safety and neighborhood improvement, and also act to ensure that the issues we continue to face do not become the norm in vicinity of the second high school. Thank you, Abigail Breuer Virus-free. www.avast.com BHS/North 11th Avenue Neighborhood Concerns I. Changes along North 11th Avenue since 2011 and Resulting Impacts • Distance between the center line on North 11 Avenue and the new main entrance: 72 ft. This distance is 4 times below the 302 ft. average of the 15 comparably-sized high schools in Montana. • Original setback of former Chief Joseph Middle School building entrance from street center line: 192 ft. • Location of new main entrance, new parking lots (2), attendant lighting, unscreened dumpsters/recycling bins: North 11th Avenue. • Unregulated “pick up and drop off” now occurs in a residential neighborhood and is comingled with bus, teacher and pedestrian activity. Changes since 2011 have disproportionally concentrated impacts along North 11th Avenue. Under widely recognized development norms and accepted best practices, these impacts should have been substantially mitigated and absorbed within the campus.1 II. Working Toward a Solution: A Proposal for Moving Forward • Create a safe drop off solution from an arterial street. A drop off loop of 1200-1500 ft. is recommended for a school the size of BHS. Best practice suggests a minimum 350 ft. setback to enable “safe and adequate site storage for stacking of loading and unloading vehicles.”2 • Provide screening of all parking areas and mitigate the impacts of parking lots, field lighting, and event broadcasting on neighbors by meeting or exceeding the practices enumerated in the City of Bozeman‘s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). • Facilitate beautification, natural feature, and vegetative screening efforts as a means to re-establish the former buffer between campus uses and the adjacent neighborhood, including athletic fields. • Re-configure dumpster and recycling bin locations to rear of building. • Observe the original minimum 150-192 ft. setback of School District facilities along North 11th Avenue from the right of way. Achieve the minimum 302 ft. average of comparably-sized high schools in Montana in all future campus uses, including athletic facilities. • Create a culture of respect for neighbors within the Bozeman School District in relation to campus activity planning. 1 In addition to the City of Bozeman’s specific guidance, please see: Michigan Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Public School Site Plan Review Reference Guide. July 2011. Guide covers: On-site Traffic Patterns, Off- Street Parking Requirements, Setbacks, Athletic Fields and Play Areas, Site Lighting, Storm Water and Dumpster Enclosures. 2 Texas Transportation Institute. Traffic Operations and Safety at Schools: Recommended Guidelines. 2004. Summary of research performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.