HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-03-2020 Public Comment - K. Fillipovich - Parking Benefit DistrictsFrom: Karen Filipovich
To: Agenda
Subject: Comment on proposed ordinance
Date: Monday, February 3, 2020 9:16:48 AM
Dear Mr. Mayor and City Commissioners:
I appreciate that you and the Bozeman Parking Commission are working to address parking in
the downtown area and attempting to ameliorate its effects on residents in the B-3 zone and
surrounding residential areas. However, the proposed ordinance 2033 has significant flaws
that will hurt, rather than help, the residents who will bear much of the burden of the
proposed Downtown Parking Management District.
1) Commuter slots. Without exact information on how number of commuters and where they
might park, it is impossible to properly evaluate the impact. If such a parking district is
established, please do not allow any commuter parking in areas that are in neighborhoods
zoned residential surrounding the B-3 district. I'd much prefer seeing something that looks like
the area surrounding MSU in residential areas than what appears to be proposed in this
ordinance.
2) Proposed apartment rules: These provisions are likely to help some businesses, but will
harm existing residents' ability to park on street. I was pleased to see that there is concern
about parking as the many new, large apartment complexes come online, but this solution
only helps during daytime business hours. The proposed solution completely misses the fact
that the parking problem is going to be most difficult from 5pm-8am and weekends for other
residents in the area. It also misses the fact that many downtown businesses are open in the
evening. It's also not clear that this is a fair or equitable solution for those folks renting
apartments in the area.
3) Costs: This proposed parking District is a tax on residents in the old area of Bozeman. While
it's nice to see some thought about cost offsets, this is a tax on residents because of where
they live. I'm not opposed to fees for clearly defined services with clear benefits for the
residents paying for those services, but this proposed ordinance does not meet that standard.
4) Driver vs. Residential Unit: There appears to be a discrepancy in the notes as to whether
residential permits should be issued by driver or dwelling unit. It should be by driver. As the
residential areas get more built up, as is stated as desirable in the community plan and
embodied in the UDC, there is going to less space for off-street parking on lots. Since most
households have more than one driver and vehicle, this trend will exacerbate problems in the
proposed parking district unless permits by driver are built in from the beginning.
5) Proposed move to Bozeman Parking Commission decision-making on new, changed or
dissolving districts: Parking is a very contentious issue. The City Commission, as our only
elected officials, should be the final decision-makers on these areas.
5) Petition requirements on Parking Districts: The provisions proposed for petitions are not
very workable and leave significant gaps and questions on who would even qualify. Would
apartment owners qualify for a petition even though the residents of those building can't
apply for a permit? Since renters (most in houses in the neighborhoods in this area) make up
the majority of households and the parking fees are not borne by off-site property owners,
there is very little incentive for many property owners to participate in any petition process.
Meeting the 60% threshold would be extremely difficult. Finally, it isn't clear how annexing to
existing parking districts or changes to part of a parking district would work, so it appears that
the only real option available is to deal with entire parking districts at a time. This approach
lacks flexibility.
Please table ordinance 2033 and go back to the drawing board. I do think better parking
solutions are needed, but this ordinance is not it.
Sincerely,
Karen Filipovich