HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2020 Public Comment - K. Jennings - Support for Bridger View RedevelopmentFrom:Karin Jennings
To:Agenda
Subject:Support for Bridger View Redevelopment
Date:Tuesday, April 21, 2020 10:06:01 AM
Dear Planning Board Members,
I am writing in support of the Bridger View Redevelopment project PUD that you will be reviewing
on May 5th.
In full disclosure, I am a volunteer member of the working board of the Headwaters CommunityHousing Trust, involved in the initial planning and implementation of the Bridger View
Redevelopment project. Additionally, through my employer, West Paw, I represented the local
manufacturing sector by participating in the City’s Housing Needs Assessment Working Group, as
affordable housing is a critical employment issue for us.
I have lived in Bozeman since 1992, so have experienced the growth we have been blessed with
which has resulted in our explosive housing demand and increasing prices (both good and bad
depending on your ownership status). As the City’s Housing Needs Assessment determined, a
greater mixture of housing options is critically needed in our community. The Bridger View
Redevelopment will provide for some of those needs, and will showcase several new tools which
may be applied to other housing developments as the community works toward more affordable
options.
Critical to permanent affordability, the homes in this project will be made affordable to “missing
middle-income” households (between 80% to 120% of local area median income) and will be kept
affordable and available to households in these income ranges through the Headwaters
Community Housing Trust's work. As a community land trust, it will ensure that these homes are
initially marketed and sold to “missing middle-income” households; and that, upon resale, these
homes will be resold at prices affordable to future “missing middle-income” households. The
Headwaters Community Housing Trust will also work closely with the Homeowner’s Association
for the Bridger View Redevelopment, to ensure the homes are well cared for and that homeowner
households involved in the community land trust have access to resources and services they may
want or need, providing the opportunity for success for (often) first-time homeowners.
I also am a supportive neighbor of the Bridger View Redevelopment project. I have lived nearby in
the Bridger Creek Subdivision Community Association (BCSCA) on Boylan Road since 2001, and
served on the BCSCA Board for a number of years. I am excited about the Bridger View
Redevelopment being a deliberately planned, mixed-income community. Of the 62 owner-
occupied homes to be built, 31 homes will be mixed throughout the neighborhood and made
affordable to “missing middle-income” households (as described above) who earn too much to
qualify for federal and state assistance programs but still cannot afford to purchase and own a
home of their own in Bozeman. The other 31 homes will be sold to other households at market-
rate prices.
I believe that we will all benefit by a new housing development like this in Bozeman and that this
development in particular will showcase several new tools useful to housing affordability which
may be applied elsewhere. Therefore, I strongly encourage your approval of the Bridger View
Redevelopment PUD.
Sincerely,
Karin Jennings
1075 Boylan Road, Bozeman, MT 59715
406-600-6563 c