HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-12-19 Public Comment - A. Hill - Nexus PointFrom: Tom Rogers
To: Brenda Sweeney
Subject: FW: SW Bozeman
Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 4:57:15 PM
Attachments: image001.png
This comment was provided the Planning Board but may qualify for an agenda submission. I wanted
to check in with you to learn your thoughts.
Thank you,
Tom
Tom Rogers | Senior Planner | AICP
City of Bozeman | 20 East Olive St. | P.O. Box 1230 | Bozeman, MT
trogers@bozeman.net | 406.582.2268
The update to the Bozeman Community Plan is underway. Help shape the future
at www.bozeman.net/communityplan.
From: Andrew Hill <andrew.hill.email@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 6, 2019 7:22 AM
To: Tom Rogers <TRogers@BOZEMAN.NET>; Sarah Rosenberg <SRosenberg@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: SW Bozeman
Dear Tom,
I am hoping that as the staff liaison for the Planning Board, you will be able to forward this
email to all of its members. Please let me know if you are not able to do so.
Sarah, I am copying you in to this email just for your information. Thanks again for helping
me with the public comment process.
Thanks very much,
Andrew
To: members of the Bozeman Planning Board,
I am the member of the public who spoke at the meeting this week about the rezoning of
Nexus Point in SW Bozeman. Given the format of the meeting only allows members of the
public to make comment but not engage in subsequent debate, I would like to address some
points that were raised after I spoke. Please note I am not anticipating a reply to this email, but
it is very likely my neighbors and I will be engaging with the Planning Board and City
Commission in future about the area. There is so much potential for SW Bozeman, but I am
deeply concerned that the city is missing an opportunity to make a neighborhood that is not
car-centered (unlike most of Bozeman other than downtown).
1. I support the developer's objective to make an area where people can live in close proximity
to their work. Saying that, the absence of a retail component is a major concern.
2. If you look at the map at the bottom of this email, there is now a large area west of 19th and
south of Stucky that is zoned for high density residential development (R-3, R-4, and now R-O
rather than BP) without any walkable community commercial development (such as a coffee
shop, convenience store, or local restaurant). This is despite "not requiring the use of an
automobile" being an explicit goal for high density residential development in the current
growth policy. From the sound of things, not only is a coffee shop/local restaurant not
permitted in the new R-O zoning, but the developer has no plans to include these.
3. A member of the Planning Board stated that the potential commercial development zoned
for between Kagy and Stucky (shown in pink in the below map) will satisfy these needs. I do
not believe this to be the case. First, it is unrealistic to expect residents to walk all the way
from Graf (the approximate center of the residential area of SW Bozeman) to Kagy to buy a
coffee or visit a local restaurant; it is simply too far. Yes, commercial development may end
up closer to Stucky in the future, but this is still on the outskirts of the residential area and far
for many residents. Second, given the large size of this potential commercial area, it is
reasonable to assume that, if ever developed, it will be developed as a strip mall with parking
lots rather than something that has a community feel. This will not promote walkability; no-
one wants to walk through a large parking lot to visit a restaurant that looks over a large
parking lot. The small pockets of commercial development we see in north-east Bozeman
(Treeline, etc.) are much more successful at encouraging walkability.
4. It was mentioned that a coffee shop was planned in the Gran Cielo subdivision. It is my
understanding that although this was initially considered, the developer has since backed away
from the idea; it is my recollection that there is no coffee shop in the site plan that was passed
by the city. The commercial needs of SW Bozeman will also not be met by a single coffee
shop as the community grows.
5. The potential for development east of 19th to satisfy the community's commercial needs
was also raised (the area zoned REMU in the below map). It is my strong contention that
people will drive and not walk across 19th; other than being a long walk for many of the
residents in SW Bozeman, 19th is simply too busy and dangerous and lacks the necessary
infrastructure for comfortable pedestrian use.
I strongly urge the Planning Board to not neglect SW Bozeman, but rather see it as an
opportunity. Bozeman desperately needs neighborhoods and not just suburbs. I hope this will
be a major consideration in the future as site plans in SW Bozeman come up for approval. Life
is not only downtown.
Many thanks,
Andrew Hill (476 Enterprise Blvd)