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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-19 Public Comment - J. Wirth - NCOD ReviewFrom: Jonathan Wirth To: reilly@bendonadams.com Cc: Agenda; Phillipe Gonzalez Subject: City of Bozeman NCOD Review - SCAN Feedback to Policy Recommendations Date: Tuesday, January 08, 2019 2:20:05 PM Attachments: SCAN NCOD Recommendations Feedback.pdf Dear Ms. Thimons, Please find attached collective feedback from the SCAN (South Central Association of Neighbors) NCOD Working Group in response to the October 29, 2018 Draft NCOD Policy Recommendations. Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback and input, and we look forward to the next steps. Have a great day! Jon Wirth Date: December 2018 -- DRAFT To: BendonAdams (mailto:reilly@bendonadams.com) Cc: City Commissioners & Staff (mailto:agenda@bozeman.net) From: South Central Association of Neighbors (SCAN) Re: City of Bozeman Draft Policy Recommendations, Oct 29, 2018 As a community, our identity is rooted in our history. With the influx of new residents, incorporating our history to better ground us in our communal identity is key to Bozeman's NCOD and Historic Preservation programs. Our SCAN neighborhood plays a central role in that communal identify. The Bon Ton, South Tracy / South Black, and South Tracy Avenue Historic Districts are all within the SCAN boundaries. SCAN encompasses almost half of all properties that contribute to Bozeman's National Register of Historic Places inventory. A Working Group on the NCOD Review was formed to carry out the SCAN mission. Members of this group, as well as the Steering Committee and many SCAN residents, have participated actively in Bozeman's Review of the NCOD and the Historic Preservation Program, including your exemplary public outreach program. Our Working Group has reached out to the SCAN neighborhood using Nextdoor, and has met weekly over the last month to consider your recommendations and alternatives. Regarding the recommendations and alternatives that you presented in the October 29th Draft:We had hours of fruitful discussions. During all of our discussions, it was clear that we support as strongly as possible a historic inventory as a priority since it is the basis for any and all recommendations and alternatives. We’ve tried to focus this feedback on areas that are either very important to us or are areas of disagreement with the recommendations in the October 29th Draft. 2.1 Purpose of the NCOD (pg. 12).We support the most fundamental recommendation of all: to retain the NCOD. Since its inception, the NCOD and the City's Historic Preservation program have contributed immeasurably to our neighborhood's broadly recognized character. 2.2 NCOD Boundary (pg. 15).We support Alternative 1, preferring the North 7th Street corridor to be all out of the NCOD. We like the idea of development on North 7th because it would allow downtown to expand, takes development pressure off the historic downtown & adjacent residential historic districts, and it would allow for denser growth very near downtown. This is an area where an inventory is crucial for decision making. 2.3 Neighborhood Design Standards and Guidelines (pg. 18).We do not support the recommendation to create design standards and guidelines for each residential neighborhood within the NCOD. We believe that this would be expensive and complicated for all involved. Context-sensitive implementation of guidelines would better allow for the delineation of neighborhood character. 3.3 Historic Review Process (pg. 26).We support increasing the HPAB’s responsibilities to a body that makes (non-binding) recommendations to the city planning staff in certain circumstances. One important aspect to this change would be to train the HPAB, so that they can knowledgeably provide input. All want to be cautious not to add more steps to the process than are necessary. 3.4 Historic Preservation Standards and Guidelines (pg. 28).While we generally prefer guidelines, we agree that standards could be very useful in certain cases. 4.1 Infill Transitions (pg. 35).On 4.1 for infill transitions, we all disagreed with the recommendation setting a hard B-3 boundary on Babcock. We believe that the street would look odd with different zoning districts on each side. Historic neighborhoods grew organically without as much structure from zoning rules. This is an area where an inventory is crucial for decision making. 4.2 Relate Zone Districts to Context (pg. 37).We do not support the recommendation to align zone district boundaries and dimensional allowances with historic districts in SCAN, or either of the alternatives. The historic pattern in SCAN included an intermingling of residential and commercial properties. This is an area where an inventory is crucial for decision making. 6. Project Information (pg. 48).We support going beyond the optional recommendation of a required meeting prior to application review with neighborhoods affected by projects to requiring input from appropriate neighbors and/or associations on large/impactful projects. See the suggestions of former mayor and county commissioner John Vincent. In closing, we thank you and the City of Bozeman for considering this input, and for your role in keeping Bozeman a special place worth protecting. SCAN Steering Committee: Jon Wirth, Vice President; Marilyn Raffensperger, Treasurer; Susan McCarty, Secretary; Jennifer Rockne, INC Liaison; Carson Taylor SCAN NCOD Working Group: Tammy Minge, Mark Ringer, Carson Taylor, Jon Wirth, and Vicky York.