HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-18-18 Protest - S. & S. MacCall - Rainbow Creek Annexation and Zone Map Amendment November 18, 2018
TO: Bozeman Zoning Commission
Bozeman City Commission
c/o Bozeman City Clerk
121 N. Rouse Ave.
P O Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
RE: Rainbow Creek Rental Properties LLC Annexation and Zoning Request, File 18-240
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 Baxter Lane and
Harper Puckett Road, and is legally described as a tract of land located in SW Y<of Section 34,
Townshipl 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 4590 Equestrian Lane, Baxter Meadows Subdivision, in 2013.
We are supportive of the annexation of this property into the City of Bozeman. However, our
objection is to the proposed R-4 zoning request by Rainbow Creek Properties, LLC.
The R-4 zoning of this property is clearly spot zoning because:
• It is significantly different from the prevailing use in the area (single family homes)
• This R-4 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.
• The area in which the requested use would apply is extremely small relative to the
number of seoarate landowners benefiting from the Proposed change.
• Public Land Use (PLU)—specifically the sports fields (bordering on the south),the
single-family residence zoned Agriculture by the County (bordering on the west),and R-
1 single family lots (bordering on the north and east). 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.The sports field would not benefit from the R-4 zoning
designation, either.
• There are no "service functions" in or near Baxter Meadows, such as bus service and
necessary businesses.
Additionally:
• The surrounding homeowners will see decreased property values, this driving down
taxable value.
• The lot size would not provide enough parking space for R-4 zoned units.
• 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
multi-use 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 R-1 and R-2 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 provides a specific character of
the neighborhood.There was no way that we could have known that this type of zoning, so
close to 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,
Scott MacCall
Si�sian MacCall
4590 Equestrian Lane
Bozeman, MT 59718
Baxter Meadows Sub PH 3A, S34,TO1 S, R05 E, Block 13, Lot 3