HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-06-19 Public Comment - E. Hoegh - HRDC Warming Center SiteFrom:Emma Hoegh
To:Sarah Rosenberg; Agenda
Subject:comments on special permit application at 3025 Westridge Drive
Date:Wednesday, November 06, 2019 11:42:18 AM
Dear Bozeman City Commissioners,
I write to express my strong opposition to the opening of warming shelter at 3025Westridge Drive. My primary reason for opposing this proposal is the use of this location
would open the possibility of Level 1 and Level 2 sex offenders being housed within 300 feetof an elementary school where my children attend school in an R1 residential neighborhood.
This possibility is very real because no background checks are required for those who maychoose to use this facility. The main HRDC warming center and the prior overflow shelter had
over 80 police calls last season and there have been reports of public defecation, publicurination, public exposure, and drug paraphernalia in areas neighboring those shelters. The
proximity of this location an elementary school and middle school that serve 1200 children,many of whom walk to and from school in close proximity to the home, places young children
in danger and is therefore simply unacceptable. Additionally, HDRC acknowledgement thatindividuals using the warming centers likely have behavioral health concerns. And the further
acknowledgement that the HRDC cannot turn guests away for lack of identification, is notresponsible for guests who may leave, and cannot require them to take the shuttle out of the
neighborhood in the morning. Given these circumstances and the increased police presencethat will inevitably follow, there is simply no way for parents to assure their children’s safety,
leading to increased anxiety among the children rather than the sense of security that childrenshould expect to have in their own neighborhood.
This neighborhood has been and is a quiet family neighborhood, close to an elementaryschool, a middle school, the museum and the University. Like many others, my family made
the single largest investment we will make as adults to purchase a home in this neighborhoodwhere we intend to raise young children in peace and safety. For a property to be purchased
for this purpose with the consent of the Bozeman City government without consulting theneighborhood in any meaningful way is reprehensible and will lead to a loss of faith in the
Bozeman City government on the part of many. Approving this request to rezone 3025Westridge Drive from R1 to transitional housing in order to accommodate up to 36 people for
this purpose sets a precedent for other undesirable zoning changes. The change in thecharacter of the neighborhood that comes with such zoning variances and zoning changes will
irrevocably diminish property values, a consideration the city should care deeply about andthat the residents of this neighborhood do care deeply about.
I understand that there is a need for warming centers and other services to support thehomeless and underserved in the larger Bozeman community and I fully support the
development of such services in an appropriate location, but I am strongly opposed to placingsuch services in a quiet family neighborhood within 300 feet of an elementary school that is
more than 1/4 mile from a covered bus stop and three miles from the hospital and/orcommunity health clinic, a step that additionally opens the neighborhood to further adverse
decisions via additional zoning changes.
Best, Emma Hoegh