HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-19 Public Comment - R. Canfield - NCOD ReviewFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: NCOD Discussion this evening and update
Date:Tuesday, April 02, 2019 1:21:57 PM
Attachments:NCOD Review public comment.pdf
Chris Mehl
Bozeman Deputy Mayor
cmehl@bozeman.net
406.581.4992
________________________________________
From: The Canfields [DickandDeb@Canfields.org]
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2019 1:07 PM
To: Chris Mehl
Cc: Lesley Gilmore; Derek Strahn; Zehra Osman; Bob Hawks; Cyndy Andrus; Amy Kelley Hoitsma; Jack Ranieri;
Jeanne Wilkinson
Subject: Re: NCOD Discussion this evening and update
Chris,
I am pleased to express my appreciation to you, Cyndy, and Bob for enabling and participating in this discussion, to
the extent that nature and your other duties allow. I have written up my comments, attached below, and submitted
them to agenda.
Dick
> On Mar 29, 2019, at 8:39 AM, Chris Mehl <CMehl@BOZEMAN.NET> wrote:
>
> Thanks everyone, it was a good conversation and really helpful to better my understanding of the issues.
>
> Chris Mehl
> Bozeman Deputy Mayor
> cmehl@bozeman.net
> 406.581.4992
>
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Richard C Canfield
(406) 579-9095
Re: Policy Recommendations for the NCOD & Historic Preservation
Dear City Commissioners and Community Development Staff,
The report Policy Recommendations for the Neighborhood
Conservation Overlay District and Historic Preservation, written by
BendonAdams / Orion Planning + Design, deserves your broad
support. These consultants are obviously very competent and well
informed, and their recommendations are critical for preservation of
Bozeman's historic character and charm as it grows.
Working with a professional architect and builder, my wife and I have
rehabilitated a single-family home in the Bon Ton Historic District. It is
now a contributing property to that historic district. Through this
process, I gained a working appreciation for the strengths and
weaknesses of the City's design standards and guidelines and
historic preservation program. As well, I learned from the
preservation professionals who are fellow members of the Bozeman
Preservation Advocacy Group (BPAG). On this basis I have
comments on two specific recommendations in the report:
Recommendation 3.4: "Create historic design standards and
guidelines for historic districts and landmarks that align
with updated Sec. of Interior’s Standards”.
The all-important part of this recommendation is "align with the
updated Sec. of Interior’s Standards". From the associated summary
at https://www.nps.gov/tps/standards/treatment-guidelines-2017.htm:
"The section on exterior additions to historic buildings in the
Rehabilitation Guidelines has been broadened to address related new
construction on a building site."
In the coming decades, population movement from coastal and
semiarid regions in response to climate change will increase pressure
for infill in Bozeman beyond what we are currently experiencing.
Historic design standards and guidelines for historic districts and
landmarks that align with updated Sec. of Interior’s Standards are
necessary to ensure that the character and appeal that made
Bozeman the success that it is today is preserved under the new
construction. Careful reading of the updated Sec. of Interior’s
Standards, in the section "New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings
and Related New Construction" (pp 156-162), reveals several
standards and design concepts that need to be added to Bozeman's
current Guidelines for Historic Preservation and the NCOD.
Recommendation 2.3: "Create Neighborhood Character Design
Standards and Guidelines”.
In contrast to Recommendation 3.4, this recommendation relates to
neighborhoods (residential and commercial) within the boundaries of
the NCOD that are not National Register historic districts. I am
concerned that the Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan (DBIP)
includes a section entitled "Create Downtown Design Guidelines" (p
112) that does not clearly distinguish the downtown neighborhood
from the downtown Main Street historic district. This section includes
the paragraph that begins "The Downtown Design Guidelines should
address design elements, issues, and aspirations that are not already
informed by the B-3 zoning provisions and UDC Article 5. They can
include historic preservation considerations for the Main Street
Historic District and designated historically significant buildings".
It appears that this section is based on incomplete understanding of
the distinction between neighborhoods and historic districts, as used
in the consultants' NCOD Policy Recommendations. My concern is
the following: the design standards and guidelines for the Main Street
Historic District and landmarks should align with a single city-wide set
of historic design standards and guidelines for historic districts and
landmarks, aligned with the updated Sec. of Interior’s Standards
(Recommendation 3.4). This single set of nationally recognized
standards and guidelines, which apply to both commercial and
residential properties, need to be followed so that special interests do
not make Bozeman into just another city.
Richard C. Canfield, 726 S 3rd Avenue, 4/2/2019