HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-18-17 Public Comment - C. Naumann (on behalf of BDBID and DURD - 4th Ltr.) - UDC Update
December 18, 2017
Bozeman City Commission
c/o Tom Rogers, Senior Planner, AICP
Department of Community Development
City of Bozeman
20 East Olive Street
Bozeman, Montana 59715
RE: December 18, 2017 City Commission Meeting
Bozeman UDC Updates – 4th Letter, UDC Updates, Ordinance 1978, Attachment B
Dear Commissioners:
Please accept this additional letter of public comment based on the new draft (Attachment B) of the
UDC dated December 12, 2017, on behalf of the Downtown Business Improvement District and Urban
Renewal District boards.
Thank you for addressing many of our previous comments and concerns.
We have several remaining recommendations that I respectfully request you consider before final
approval of the UDC updates.
1) Page 173, Section 38.300.110.D: the proposed changes to the B3 intent statement are positive;
however, infill and supporting residential uses also need to be explicitly included in the intent
statement as both of these fundamental objectives are identified in the adopted Downtown
Urban Renewal Plan (1995), the Downtown Improvement Plan (1998) and the Downtown
Improvement Plan (2009).
We would like to propose the following amendment to further support a healthy and vibrant
downtown:
Downtown Business District (Downtown B-3)
The intent of the downtown B-3 business district is to provide a central area for the
community's business, government service and cultural activities. with urban residential
development as an essential supporting use. The downtown B-3 district should be the
area of greatest density of development, and intensity of use., and appropriate infill.
Design standards reinforcing the area’s historical pedestrian-oriented context are very
important.
This district encourages high volume, pedestrian-oriented uses in ground floor space in
the "core area" of the city's central business district, i.e., along Main Street from Grand
to Rouse and to the alleys one-half block north and south from Main Street. Lower volume
pedestrian uses such as professional offices may locate on ground floor space in the
downtown B-3 area outside the above defined core.
2) Page 186, Table 38.310.040.B: health and exercise establishments are listed as a permitted
principal use in the B3 district; however, there is a proposed footnote that states: “Only lobbies
for the applicable use are allowed on designed Storefront block frontages as set forth in
38.510.020.” This footnote should be removed. All three existing exercise businesses downtown
have windows directly into their studios which provide much more dynamic “storefronts” than a
lobby which will have little to no vibrancy in this case.
3) Page 195, Table 38.310.040.E: Community Centers (which includes museums) is listed as a
permitted principle use in the B3 district; however, footnote 4 requires an analysis of alternative
sites. This was identified by Staff as a typo but it was inadvertently not deleted from the revised
draft. This footnote should be removed.
4) Page 211, Table 38.320.050: the adopted Downtown Improvement Plan recommends: “For a
downtown of the size, nature, and development pattern of Bozeman’s, floor area ratios in the
range of 3.5 to 5.0 (not including parking) are recommended depending on the district. The
transition areas in the outer edges of downtown may have lower FARs. Development standards
should include a minimum FAR to ensure that new development achieves a building form and
level of intensity appropriate to a downtown setting” (Pages 38-39). The draft of the UDC
ignores this recommendation of an existing adopted plan.
We would like to recommend adding “3” as a modest minimum Floor Area Ratio for the B3
District to prevent suburban underbuilding with the following new footnote: “Exceptions will be
granted for the rehabilitation of existing historic buildings or where Zone Edge Transitions
(38.320.060) apply.”
5) Page 237, Section 38.350.070.E and Page 274, 38.360.240.B.4: the proposed language states:
“Individual garages facing the street are not permitted in the B3 district.” Although alleys are an
integral part of most of downtown, what happens if an alley is not present? One example of this
is in corner lot redevelopments. A project like the award-winning North Black Row elegantly
integrates a carport directly off the street. As another example, the typical front-loaded
brownstone with a half-story tuck under garage is an example of urban infill that would work for
great downtown where an alley is not available. To allow for more flexibility in cases where
alleys are not present, we would like to propose the following amendment to both sections
referenced above:
"Individual garages facing the street are not permitted in the B-3 district when an alley is
adjacent to the property."
6) Page 379, Table 38.510.030.B: storefront block frontage standards require 60% building
transparency (with an available departure down to 40%). This was one of the biggest concerns
for the Downtown Business Improvement District and the Downtown Urban Renewal Boards.
When analyzing building corner patterns downtown and the businesses that occupy these
spaces, it is evident that there is a functional need for less transparency on secondary frontages
to deal with the realities of many corner retail spaces. We see this as a potential problem for
downtown businesses and do not want to rely on a departure to address this issue. There is a
very functional reason that many of the historic retail spaces on corners did not include
extensive windows on the side streets. We would like to propose the following amendment:
Façade Transparency At least 60% of ground floor between 30” and 10’ above the sidewalk
for primary facades and 40% of ground floor between 30” and 10’
above the sidewalk for secondary facades.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Chris Naumann
Executive Director
Downtown Bozeman Partnership
CC: Bozeman Zoning Commission & Planning Board
Susan Riggs, AICP, GroundPrint, LLC