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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-02-17 Public Comment - J. Fiebig - UDC Update, ADUFrom:agenda@bozeman.net To:Agenda Subject:Thank you for your public comment. Date:Saturday, December 02, 2017 11:21:59 AM A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted. Form Name:Public Comment Form Date & Time:12/02/2017 11:21 AM Response #:66 Submitter ID:3047 IP address:174.45.255.187 Time to complete:31 min. , 46 sec. Survey Details Page 1 Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options. Public comment may also be given at any public meeting. Email: agenda@bozeman.net Mail to: Attn: City Commission PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771 In-person delivery to: Attn: City Commission City Clerk's Office City Hall, Suite 202 121 N. Rouse Ave. Bozeman, MT First Name Jennifer Last Name Fiebig Email Address blueridgegirl@gmail.com Phone Number 4066004811 Comments To The City Commissioners, To The City Commissioners, My name is Jennifer Fiebig. My husband and I own a home on South Willson and Grant in the Butte Addition section of town. We've owned our home since 2010. He and I worked hard to earn enough to afford to put a down payment on our first and only home. I am a licensed mental health therapist in town, and he works for a conservation organization. We were fortunate enough to buy our home in 2010 when houses were affordable in town. We chose this home for the affordability and also for the downtown location. The house is only 615 square feet on the main floor and 310 in the basement (storage only) on an R1 lot built in 1910. We bought with the future hope of either adding on to the home or building an ADU in the back. We have not able to afford to build since nor were the regulations for ADU's realistic for our home. The old regulations say that the ADU has to be the same height, a small derivative of the home, and a certain amount of distance from the ally. I completely understand and support that certain regulations for development need to be set in place. However, I also support city infill to prevent further development of necessary open space surrounding the city. We need to preserve these lands to make the city more desirable in the future. I understand that ADU building codes are being renegotiated. I would like to make the case for changing a few of the regulations. Primarily, that the height and square footage of the original home to be taken into consideration. We want to add a garage and addition above the garage for a long term rental unit. But we can't because we only have a one story home and the garage could only be about a third the size of our home - we couldn't even get a car into that space. We also don't want it to be attached to our home because of the way the lot is laid out. We want to maintain the charm and character of our neighborhood and don't want an ugly addition nor take away the charm of our backyard. Please consider changing the regulations, especially for smaller, older homes in the conservation overlay areas of Bozeman. We work hard to afford to live in this city. Having additional income from a long term rental as well as having a garage would be beneficial to us. It would also be beneficial to the city to provide a long term rental unit for more housing - especially with the long term rental crisis happening right now. We can't afford to sell and buy a "bigger home" because the market is unreal in this town. Please consider making positive changes to assist citizens like us to love this town, live and work here, and work hard to afford a home. Neither of us come from wealthy families, and we work hard to live in a place we love. Please feel free to contact me for any additional comments or questions. Kindest, Jennifer Fiebig Thank you, City Of Bozeman This is an automated message generated by the Vision Content Management System™. Please do not reply directly to this email.