HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-05-19 Public Comment - L. Angell - Residential Building Permit for Roof RepairFrom:Chris Mehl
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Letter to Dep. Mayor Chris Mehl and Comm. Terry Cunningham from Laurel Angell
Date:Thursday, December 05, 2019 3:31:33 PM
Attachments:Letter to Mehl and Cunningham - From Laurel Angell, citizen 12.19.docx
Chris Mehl
Bozeman Deputy Mayor
cmehl@bozeman.net
406.581.4992
________________________________________
From: Laurel Angell [ldangell17@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2019 11:10 AM
To: Chris Mehl; Terry Cunningham
Cc: Jim.Hamilton@mtleg.gov
Subject: Letter to Dep. Mayor Chris Mehl and Comm. Terry Cunningham from Laurel Angell
Hi Chris and Terry –
Please see attached letter around an ongoing and very serious matter involving my house and safety in downtown
Bozeman. Per what I put in the intro of this letter, I am out of options and not sure what to do here, so I am sending
this your way. I know you are problem solvers and genuinely concerned about the people of this community, and it
is in this spirit that I send this letter after what has been (and continued to be) an incredibly stressful experience. I
hesitated to write this, but many friends and residents of this community urged me to bring this to your attention.
Thank you for taking the time to read it, and I look forward to your guidance. I have also cc’d my local Rep to the
Montanan State Legislature, Jim Hamilton.
Respectfully,
Laurel Angell
Concerned Citizen of Bozeman
Laurel Angell
116 S Church Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
December 5, 2019
Deputy Mayor Chris Mehl & Commissioner Terry Cunningham
121 N Rouse Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
Sent via email
Dear Chris and Terry:
I am not sure where to send this letter, or who this even falls too, which is indicative of the
problem with the process of repairing a house in downtown Bozeman, and so I am starting with you all. I
know you are problem solvers and genuinely care about the people of this community and the issues we
face, especially around planning and development, and so I want to respectfully bring my experience of the
past 8 months to your attention and ask for your guidance and advice.
I am not one to usually complain either, but I find myself in an increasingly desperate situation
heading even further into winter as I continue to try and secure a residential building permit to FIX and
REPAIR the roof that is over my bedroom and back living space in my house on 116 S Church Ave. It is a
modest, old house that is currently surrounded by new construction (of which I do support the idea of
going up and not out by the way) and yet, despite all the quick work being done around me I have struggled
since May to simply get a permit to fix damage done by the winter storms of February last year. This has
left me without half of my house (and a proper place to sleep) for months. I have been patient and
respectful of the permitting process, and diligently have followed the myriad of confusing requests,
requirements, “moving hoops” and policies (and once completed it seems to lead to even more requests),
but this has been put to the test by the onerous and drawn out nature of this process and the utter lack of
urgency or support with winter continuing to bear down.
I was also afraid to write this, because I genuinely have so little faith in this process now that I am
honestly afraid that speaking out could affect the outcome of getting the building permit (which is sad),
and I don’t trust that the regulations in Bozeman have the best interests in mind for the safety or well-being
of people who live in the downtown area. That being said, if nobody speaks out publicly about the
byzantine, expensive process of securing building permits for repairs to old houses (ours was built in the
1920’s) in Bozeman’s conservation district, this strain on law-abiding folks might continue to go on
unchecked.
It should go without saying that people who live in houses should have roofs over their heads, but
that doesn’t necessarily seem to be how the regulations in Bozeman are applied. I hope you will help me out
here and at least read my story, of which has become a rather epic and upsetting odyssey:
The unforgettable chill and heavy snow of last winter and early spring created problems for many
roofs in town, and some were catastrophic, such as the gym at MSU and the pavilion at Bogert Park in our
neighborhood. Ice dams formed on our roof and the weight of snow and ice caused a buckle that we didn’t
see until the thaw. We got insurance involved, hired a contractor (not easy in the continued building
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boom), and the discovery process, which involved completely stripping the interior walls and ceiling in the
bedroom, revealed extensive damage, including cracked rafters that were now pulling away from the rest of
the structure and water damage extending down the walls and studs. In short, the roof on that section of the
house was slowly collapsing. For the insurer, it was a clear-cut case of weather damage that needed
immediate repair. The engineer they hired declared that part of the house unlivable, which meant that the
master bedroom had to be abandoned. It’s a very small house, so it meant that nearly a quarter of the
structure was unusable.
We believed we were fortunate that it was still early in the building season. Neighboring
construction projects such as rehab on a historic house down the street and groundbreaking for a new six-
story steel-frame building a half a block over were kicking into gear, and our contractor seemed confident
that once a permit was in place we could get the repairs done and have our space back by fall. It would be
cramped; it was already noisy with the construction around us; sleeping on couches isn’t ideal, but a couple
months wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe the biggest challenge, we thought, would be keeping the pets inside,
out of the construction zone. We had already visited the planning office, and they seemed fairly confident
that we could get through the process by the end of summer, since it was just a roof repair. We could not
have been more wrong.
Before even being allowed to apply for a building permit, houses in what is called the “Conservation
District” must first go through a process to gain what is called a “Certificate of Appropriateness.” At first
glance, it seems reasonable to determine whether what you are going to do will fit in with the historic
district, and any new work won’t significantly alter the character of the house. As a current graduate
student in the MSU history department, I certainly appreciate that. Many cities have such a process in place.
Fair enough. But because the damage to the roof was extensive the Planning Office kept asking for more
and more information, and at times seemed to be moving the proverbial goal posts. We were told we had
to have our property surveyed, our house AND our separate garage over 100 feet away had to be measured
and it all had to be plotted out on a drawing to scale (on paper was fine, but now requiring an architect as
well). The time it takes for a busy contractor and busy surveyors and an architect (in the GALLATIN
VALLEY IN PARTICULAR, which we know is in a boom!) to schedule and complete such work took a
good part of the summer, and our insurance company began to raise eyebrows because of the costs that we
were incurring without so much as a nail being hammered. With time, patience and continued money and a
lot of work, we did manage to jump through each and every hoop, and they could finally get things
reviewed, but it had taken several months.
Unfortunately though, we were initially denied our permit because it turns out the house is built
two feet from the property line (on both sides), and that the proper setback should be 5 feet. This house
was built and added onto long before such a rule existed. Nevertheless, Bozeman will retroactively enforce
these setback codes if they can. They asked us to prove that the cost of the repair would be less than half of
what it would cost to demolish and rebuild the entire house. Something that isn’t even in the realm of what
I can afford to do. More money was spent, more time was lost, and the restoration contractor had to work
through a detailed estimate of a demolition and rebuild – something that wasn’t even a possibility but took a
lot of time.
I was livid. Frankly, this is in fact our property. That the city could even hint that we might
be denied a permit to repair dangerous situation on our own property is unconscionable.
Even if the house is a single millimeter from our property line, can I not make repairs. It’s an old house, it’s
a small house, and it was built before the codes even existed. If the damaged section of roof were to
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collapse, it might even cause a fire, as the electrical box is under it, as is the entrance to our furnace room.
Contractor, client and insurer were all sharing unsavory thoughts about the City of Bozeman, to put it
nicely and would shake their heads at each new task the city requested – and again they city is not clear with
thee requirements, and so this was never laid out initially, and thus we never had clarity on expectations. By
now it was summer’s end, and after some back and forth with the Planning Department, through the sheer
diligence and persistence of our contractor, we were granted a Certificate of Appropriateness at the end of
October.
And so we have now moved on to the permitting process. The Building Department gave us a
couple of handouts on getting our permit going, but as with the Planning Department, the directions were
less than transparent. Moreover, it is an entirely electronic process, so our contractor has had to
subcontract with someone who is adept at electronic documents and drawings. More money spent on the
process. Initiating the permit process was a challenge, given that some of the blanks one has to fill in are
unsatisfactory. It took a visit and a call to the Building department before I could fill out the electronic form
with the proper information. By November 20 we were allowed into the system, and now we are in the
process of getting the proper drawings done and uploaded. Again, need to hire out for that, and more
money. Further, we were told by this subcontractor that it is likely that the permitting office will keep
moving the goalposts again and keep asking us for more and more information because “that is what they
do.” I wouldn’t be surprised if someone asks me next to bring in the feather of a dodo bird (only half
kidding).
In the meantime, a couple of snowstorms have come and gone and there is at this writing a foot of
snow on a roof that is too shaky to stand upon. There are clear signs that the structure is weakening and
separating from the rest of the house. We will hopefully have all our documentation uploaded by December
1, and then it’s potentially a six-week waiting game for a permit. Because they are behind (something we
were told over and over, how backed up they are). It’s a crap shoot right now whether the roof
will collapse before we are even granted a permit. If it does, and I will have to look into holding
this process, and the City of Bozeman liable for creating the situation that led us to starting a repair project
during the winter. Although unlike developers with their lawyers and staff who bird-dog and outmaneuver
the process to get it through, I don’t have those same resources, and I think that is part of the problem here.
It is a burden, but one I might be forced into.
As it is, this has impacted my work (and health honestly due to incredible stress), as this has almost
become another job given all the paperwork, conversations, futile trips to the city offices, and let’s not
forget the money aspect with drawings and sub-contractors, and estimates for stuff we will never do, and
having to go back to the insurance company to explain the process. Plus, the city WOULD NOT provide
any documentation of the process for this which is a huge issue when you are trying to get an insurance
company to pay for the work and repairs. No documentation means no reimbursement. But the city would
not provide anything in writing despite requests – they wouldn’t even provide documentation to say they
were behind when my insurance pressed on why this was taking so long. This whole thing just feels like a
really bad snipe hunt.
Is this really what you want regular citizen to have to contend with? For straight up repairs to
ensure the safety and security of their own home? Is this Bozeman?
Our first information gathering visit to the office was in May. We have been very forthcoming
about the dire nature of the damage from the get-go. We have been patient, and respectful and diligent. We
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have followed the rules and done everything asked of us. Although the employees have been empathetic
when we have met with them, there has been no avenue to expedite this urgent repair, which, given the
heavy snows to come, could become not only the emergency that it is, but a catastrophe for our property
and our lives.
Mind you it doesn’t help – and actually really fuels my cynicism and anger around this – that I am
currently in the shadow of a monstrosity of a building going up on Babcock and S. Wallace, and several
large new, shiny trophy houses have gone right down the street- across from Bogart. One even has a sign
announcing its grandness! Those went up in the time I have been trying to get the permit. Seriously! I keep
being told that it’s because I am in the historic district, but behind me another generic industrial loft style
black and steel with faux wood paneling 5 plus story building goes up, and so it seems hard to really trust
this process and this system. I won’t even go into the mess that these guys have created next to me and in
the alley way with this construction – that is a whole other letter. Whether that is fair or not, what I do
know is I am still in a house that has a condemned area where a roof needs to get fixed and so I have no
certainty or assurance of safety in part of my house and the permit process continues to drag on. And
around me the construction rattles on day and night.
As a normal, (not rich, not a developer) citizen, what rights do have? How do I get support? How
do I make my house whole again? So many people have told me I should have just gone around the
permitting process because its’ so onerous and non-sensical. Is that what you all want? Because I don’t, and
I didn’t, yet because of that I am still sitting here almost 7 months after I started this process, in the midst of
winter now, knowing I am still in no way near getting a permit.
Again, I ask, is this really what we want for our community? This is why people are up in arms with
the development and lack of transparency and clarity on the process, and for what a regular citizen can do.
What can and should a regular citizen, who makes an honest wage, and does not have the resources of a
developer do? How can the city get in the way of me being safe and secure in my home? Who can answer
my questions? What recourse do I have? How can I get my house fixed? How can I ensure the safety and
security of my own house?
I realize and appreciate that I am very lucky to call Bozeman home, and I know there are a lot of
changes happening, and I understand and want to be part of a movement that supports smart growth,
affordability and livability here – and welcomes people. But this has really challenged my spirit as a
progressive citizen. I do plan to send this to others, but thought I would honestly ask you both, what can I
do when I have done everything asked of me and still cannot fix my own house to ensure the safety of my
family and pets, especially in winter.
Thanks for your time and consideration of this very serious matter and look forward to your guidance. But
for now, I remain concerned, stressed and tired in downtown Bozeman
Respectfully and sincerely,
/s/
Laurel D. Angell
cc:
Rep. Jim Hamilton (HD 61)