HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-19 Public Comment - N. Ross - Gallatin Green Boulevard ProposalFrom:Nicole Ross
To:Danielle Garber; Agenda
Cc:raderconnie@gmail.com
Subject:Gallatin Green Development Concerns
Date:Monday, June 24, 2019 1:36:47 PM
Attachments:Baxter_Development_Letter.pdf
Greetings -
Please see the attached letter about the planned development project on the NE end of Gallatin
Green Blvd.
I hope you will agree to modify the plans to address the concerns of our neighborhoodresidents.
Sincerely,
Nicole Ross
Bozeman Planners,
As a resident of the Baxter Meadows neighborhood, I’m writing to voice concerns about the
proposed commercial/residential development on the NE end of Gallatin Green Boulevard.
While scrolling through our neighborhood online group last week, the first episode of Kevin
Costner’s Yellowstone happened to be playing in the background. As I read through my
neighbors’ anxieties about the development news, I heard these words from the living room:
“We don’t measure our progress by the size of our cities. We measure our
progress by how those cities impact the people and the land surrounding them.”
Talk about serendipitous timing.
During the next few weeks, you’ll likely hear from other residents who oppose the development
-- at least, the plan as it stands today. You’ll also hear from developers and businessmen
advocating so-called “progress.” The true motivation, however, is simple: profit.
With Bozeman’s booming population growth and housing shortage, the development will likely
be positioned as “necessary” to our city. A three-story commercial mix space and 70-space
parking lot packed onto 1.4 acres in the middle of a neighborhood is far from necessary.
Our community is not against development of this space. We understand the land’s value,
desirable location, and zoning. We accept that someone, sometime, will try to capitalize on it.
All we ask for is compromise.
We ask for revisions to the plans that will minimize the dangers to our children, families,
properties, and community. We ask for revisions to the plans that maintain the beauty of one of
our neighborhood’s last natural open spaces and mountain views. We ask for revisions to the
plans that preserve the aesthetic cohesiveness and peace of our neighborhood.
Specifically, here are key areas of concern:
●Our neighborhood, and Gallatin Green Boulevard, in particular, is full of children and
elderly residents.
○There are more children playing on the sidewalks in this section of road than
almost any other in Baxter Meadows.
○Children use this street to bike to Chief Joseph Middle School, and their journey
is already dangerous enough with existing traffic.
○Many of those children are babies and toddlers, unaware of the dangers of traffic
and unsteady on their feet.
○Elderly residents (including my own parents, who bought a home on that block
just this year) have limited mobility and noise tolerance.
○Increased traffic endangers children and the eldery.
○Accompanying noise counters the serenity for which homeowners purchased
their homes and the limited views they can currently enjoy.
○Decreased safety, increased noise, and obstructed views also push our
home values down.
●Gallatin Green Boulevard has street parking on both sides, which narrows the street to a
single lane for moving traffic.
○This problem worsens once snow falls and street width is reduced even further,
which can be 5+ months of the year.
○Adding traffic for a 70-car parking lot, businesses, and residences will only make
this situation worse.
○Pedestrian and vehicular traffic cannot support the current scope of the project.
○See Sec. 38.230.100 // division 38.400
●Property has already been damaged by the existing traffic flow. Last month, a street
parked car was totaled.
○Additional cars have been damaged by passing traffic over the past year.
●Surrounding structures are two stories tall, and a three-story development does not
align with the other homes and condos in the area.
○The architectural design does not align with our neighborhood identity.
○The structure needs to be reduced to one or two stories.
○The height of the structure will also obstruct the already-limited mountain view for
our residents.
○Wildlife frequently this area and rely on the land for food and shelter, particularly
as the city has absorbed so much of their natural habitat.
○See Sec. 38.230.100 // article 5
Bottom Line: Legally, you are likely able to justify the development plans as-is. But, just
because you can doesn't mean you should. We are the residents of this neighborhood. We are
most impacted. We are the ones this community is built to serve.
Planning should be based on community need, not capitalistic desire.
Our concerns should be prioritized and the plans adjusted to ensure our neighborhood retains
its safety, peace and quiet, and beauty that we all collectively contribute to on a daily basis.
Sincerely,
Nicole Ross
2229 Gallatin Green Blvd.
nikross@gmail.com