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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-06-20 Public Comment - W. Thomas - Armory HotelFrom:agenda@bozeman.net To:Agenda Subject:Thank you for your public comment. Date:Monday, April 6, 2020 1:44:20 PM A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted. Form Name:Public Comment Form Date & Time:04/06/2020 1:44 PM Response #:374 Submitter ID:25913 IP address:96.40.197.145 Time to complete:4 min. , 14 sec. Survey Details Page 1 Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options. Public comment may also be given at any public meeting. Email: agenda@bozeman.net Mail to: Attn: City Commission PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771 In-person delivery to: Due to City Hall's closure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in-person delivery of comments is not available until further notice. First Name Wendy Last Name Thomas Email Address ciaoragazzi406@gmail.com Phone Number Not answered Comments April 6, 2020 Re: Etha Hotel Mayor Mehl and City Commissioners, I’m taking a moment from my important and immediate task of making face masks for medical personnel at Scott Air Force Base to provide a brief note to you regarding The Etha Hotel. I’m writing this quickly, so I hope that Mayor Mehl will forgive any typos or grammatical errors. Many of you, as well as city staff, know this project remains perhaps the most complex project undertaken in the City of Bozeman. In my experience, adaptive reuse of historic buildings is never easy, but often the results are treasured by the community in the aftermath of the efforts needed to address complexity. I want to share with you what I remember of the building permit review and approval for the Etha Hotel. It is important to remember that management staff in the Department of Community Development met on a weekly basis. The purpose of these meetings was to ensure communication and coordination between the planning and building divisions. During the construction of another hotel, planning staff noticed the façade had been changed from the approved site plan. The project brought to the attention of staff the importance of planning review of building permit revisions. At the time, the department was also implementing electronic plan review. The new software would make it easy to compare drawings and ensure consistency with approved site plans from that time forward. However, the Etha Hotel’s complexity exceeded the ability of the building plan review staff at that time. Bozeman did not have the in-house expertise to review complex structural engineering plans; therefore, plans were sent to a third-party reviewer out of state. However, based on experience, staff was highly attuned to the need to review building plans for consistency with approved site plans. In addition, staff was acutely aware of the interest in the Etha by many downtown stakeholders. Staff made every effort to be deliberate, fair and equitable in the review and approval of downtown projects. I worked closely with the Building Official and the planning staff to ensure each review of the Etha received a coordinated review from the department. I cannot speak to any changes made to the building that may be inconsistent with the approved site plan after July 2016, but I will state that during my time with the City, there were weekly conversations by the managing staff in the department to ensure both the planning and building divisions reviewed plan submissions for consistency with adopted city codes and standards and previously approved site plans. I did not approve plans without verifying this consistency. You are being asked to make difficult decisions, but I want to assure you, that during my tenure with the City, Community Development was careful and deliberate in its review of building and planning documents. I’m really behind on my mask making and I know that lives depend on that work, so I must return to that endeavor. Regards, Wendy Thomas If you would like to submit additional documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .gif, .jpg, .png, .rtf, .txt) along with your comment, you may alternately address agenda@bozeman.net directly to ensure receipt of all information. Thank you, City Of Bozeman This is an automated message generated by the Vision Content Management System™. Please do not reply directly to this email.