HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-30-19 Protest - H. Fretwell - Bozeman Medical Arts Zone Map AmendmentFrom:worldeduc8n
To:Agenda
Subject:Letter of protest to ZMA application 19-258
Date:Friday, August 30, 2019 3:11:10 PM
Attachments:Zoning Protest Letter Fretwell1.docx
Dear Chris, commissioners, and other staff members working on ZMA application 19-
258:
Please find attached my letter of protest to the Medical Arts Building parking lot
zoning map amendment application. I look forward to hearing the discussion on this
at the forthcoming Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, Sept 3, and City
Commission meeting to be held Monday, Sept 9.
Would you also please send me a link to the memo on the same. I am having trouble
accessing that on the Bozeman.net website.
Thank you,
Holly Fretwell
320 N Grand
Bozeman, MT 59715
406-579-3658
worldeduc8n@yhoo.com
August 30, 2019 City of Bozeman Department of Community Development Attn: Chris Saunders PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 Dear Chris, I am writing to petition the zoning change amendment of application 19-258. The petition proposes to change the zoning of the parking lot adjacent the Medical Arts Building from R4 to B3. I am the sole owner of the single family home located at 320 N Grand that sits directly west of the proposed zone change. I petition this zone map amendment for multiple reasons. First, let me provide some background. I have been a resident of the Bozeman community for over 35 years. I have watched it grow from a cowboy college town to what it is today. I purchased and moved into my residence at 320 N Grand in fall, 2016. I understood the zoning at that time and the potential for residential development in the parking lot directly behind my home. Bozeman is growing and there is a clear need for additional housing as is demonstrated by the growing demand and rising home prices, particularly near Main Street. This proposed change to commercial development, however, does not meet a number of the Zone Map Amendment requirements as defined. Altering zoning is an act that requires the proposed zoning change to meet 11 criteria defined by state law. I address several of these criteria as they are stated in the “Annexation and Initial Zone Map Amendment Required Materials” below.
• Point a) of the zone map amendment requirements requires the new zoning design to be in accordance with the Bozeman growth policy. Bozeman is currently in the plan development stages of a community plan and long run growth policy. The proposed zoning change for the Medical Arts Building parking lot conflicts with at least two of the Plan Themes Bozeman is currently striving to achieve.
o According to the Bozeman Plan Themes, the city aims to be a “City of Neighborhoods.” This is defined as a series of diverse and inclusive neighborhoods. Changing the Medical Arts Building parking lot from residential to commercial zoning allows potential expansion of tall commercial structures three blocks North of Main Street. This commercial expansion encroaches on the neighborhood and the future ability to have “walkable centers” and a downtown area that is within walking distance of nearby neighborhoods, noted as desirable according to the Bozeman Plan Theme.
o While there are a few low rise commercial buildings, including the Medical Arts Building, on the third block North of Main street, it is generally occupied by single family dwelling neighborhoods that compliment the business district of downtown Bozeman’s Main Street. To continue to expand the commercial allowance further and further north will destroy the character of the “urban edge” that these historic neighborhoods help define. The Bozeman Plan Themes notes the Shape of the City as an important component of the planning document. Typically the urban edge considers the boundary of urban infrastructure and, as exists in this case, the contrast in the density of buildings.
• Point e) of the zone map amendment requirements requires the new zoning design to provide reasonable provision of light and air. Any tall building on this lot will reduce light available to the homes that sit adjacent to the structure. Mathematical estimation shows that a 44 foot building will increase shade in the neighboring lots by about an hour. Increasing the height of that building to 70 feet will reduce light by an additional .58 hours. During winter months a tall building will reduce the time of direct light - and potential for solar heat - by approximately 18.5 percent.
• Point g) of the zone map amendment asks if the new zoning design promotes compatible urban growth. If, as implied by the Bozeman Plan Themes, compatible means to consider the existing character of the neighborhood while allowing for growth, the current zoning of the parking lot is compatible growth. Compatible growth accommodates the need for increased housing without chasing away the existing single family homes that have resided in the neighborhood for 50 and sometimes 100 years. Allowing a commercial structure on the Medical Arts Building parking lot will change the neighborhood and motivate redevelopment toward multi-family units, a move away from the current characteristic of the neighborhood.
• Point h) of the zone map amendment requires the new zoning design to promote the character of the district. The character of the district to the West and North is residential. Continuing to move commercial zoning in these directions will tear at the core of the single family home character of the neighborhood. This neighborhood is the core of single family dwellings between the Medical Arts Building and 7th Avenue. As this core is developed it will disintegrate the “City of Neighborhoods” in this region, which is one of the Bozeman Plan Themes for the Bozeman Community Development Plan.
• Point i) of the zone map amendment requires that the new zoning is adopted with a view to conserve the values of the buildings. This zoning change is likely to decrease the value of the existing structures in the neighborhood that are single family homes. From this homeowners point of view, should a high rise be built on the Medical Arts Building parking lot with minimal setback the logical transition would be to tear down the existing single family home structure at 320 North Grand and replace it with a 4 unit multi-family home. Such actions would increase density in the core of Bozeman in a
manner that is inconsistent with the current Bozeman Planning Themes being explored for the long term growth of the community. I have lived in the Bozeman community for over 35 years. I moved to this neighborhood with the knowledge that it would change over time and was excited to embrace those changes and invest in my single family home and enhance the value of the neighborhood. My intentions will change considerably with a zoning change that allows commercial development adjacent to my backyard. If this happens I, and probably others, will capitalize best by developing our R4 lots as multi-family dwellings. That will change the character of the neighborhood. If the goal of Bozeman planning is to allow for increased density while also maintaining the character of the downtown Bozeman area caution must be taken to allow residential density off Main Street without enabling large commercial structures to encroach on the neighborly character of the region. I appreciate your consideration of this letter that is in protest to the change of zoning for the Medical Arts Parking lot, application 19-258. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or comments. I can be reached at worldeduc8n@yahoo.com or by phone at 406-579-3658. Sincerely, Holly Fretwell