HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-16-18 Protest - J. & D. Bader - Rainbow Creek Annexation and Zone Map AmendmentNovember 16, 2018
Bozeman City Clerk 121 N. Rouse Ave.
P O Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
RE: Rainbow Creek Rental Properties LLC Annexation and Zoning
TO: Bozeman Zoning Commission Bozeman City Commission
Please accept this letter of PROTEST regarding the Rainbow Creek Annexation and Zone Map
Amendment, File 18-240, of R-4 for the 2.29-acre property located at 4555 Baxter Lane,
Bozeman, MT. The property is generally located east of the intersection of East Baxter Lane and
Harper Puckett Road, and is legally described as a tract of land located in SW ¼ of Section 34,
Township1 South, Range 5 East, P.M.M., Gallatin County, Montana. File 18-240 Rainbow Creek
Rentals annexation and zoning request.
We purchased our home at 4626 Equestrian Lane in BAXTER MEADOWS SUB PH 3A, S34, T01 S,
R05 E, BLOCK 13, Lot 1, ACRES 0.237, PLAT J-448 plus open space, in 2014.
We have no problem with the annexation of this property into the City of Bozeman. In fact, we
are supportive of annexation. Our objection is to the proposed R-4 zoning request by Rainbow
Creek Properties, LLC.
We object to the spot zoning of this property, because:
• It is significantly different from the prevailing use in the area.
• The area in which the requested use is to apply is rather small from the perspective of
concern to the number of separate landowners benefiting from the proposed change.
• Public Land Use (PLU)—specifically the sports fields, borders this property on the
south, the west by single-family residence zoned Agriculture by the County, and on the north
and east by R-1, single family lots. Therefore, the R-4 zoning is significantly different from the
surrounding zoning.
• The property in question is small, only 2.29 acres, of which only 1.8 acres can be built
on, and there is only one landowner who benefits from this special legislation, Rainbow Creek
Properties, LLC. The greater Baxter Meadows Community does not benefit from this zoning
designation.
• There are no “service functions” in or near Baxter Meadows, to include bus service and
necessary businesses, such as supermarkets or gas stations.
• This request is not compatible or complementary to the furtherance of the Community
Growth Policy. Spot zoning an R-4 in the middle of an R-1 section of a planned
community moves away from the spirit and principles outlined in the plan.
Additionally:
• The surrounding homeowners will see decreased property values driving down taxable
value.
• A precedent for dropping vastly differing spot zoning designations on small lots into
other neighborhoods will be set for the city.
• The open space directly north of the property will now be visually overshadowed by
apartment buildings and a parking lot.
• Added traffic congestion and parking issues with the soccer complex directly across the
street.
• Baxter Meadows covenants allow building up to 38’ high, and a majority of the houses
are 2 story buildings, R-4 zoning allows for taller buildings that would overshadow the
open space trails that separate Baxter Meadows from the proposed apartment
buildings.
The Baxter Meadows subdivision was intentionally designed to accommodate higher density (R-
3 and R-4) housing and commercial buildings on the east moving to lower density (R-1 and R-2)
on the west. The R-4 zoning request is incompatible with the surrounding zoning. We chose to
buy our house in the Baxter Meadows West Subdivision because of the established R1 –
Residential Single-Household Low Density zoning which directly lends itself to the quality and
residential character of the neighborhood. There was no way that we could have known that
this type of zoning, within a few hundred feet of our home, would be considered when we
purchased this property. The neighborhood is filled with families who care about the property
they own and those around them. Zoning the Subject Property R-1 is the only way to respect
the residential character and quality of the area in congruence with Bozeman’s UDC.
In closing, we respectfully request that you deny the Rainbow Creek Zone Map amendment for
the property located at 4555 Baxter Lane, as R-4, Residential High Density and consider zoning
it as R-1 – Residential Single Household Low Density, which is in alignment with the tenets of
the Bozeman Community Plan, and community goals.
Sincerely,
Jeff R. Bader Donna Bader
4626 Equestrian Lane, Bozeman MT 59718 Baxter Meadows Subdivision