HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 Project Summary and Document Org 10-01-2019
Bridger View PUDP & PLAT Applications
Project Summary | Page 1
Project Summary
Project
Bridger View is envisioned as a diverse neighborhood where households at various income
levels, stages of life, sizes and backgrounds can afford to purchase a home in Bozeman. The
new neighborhood features 62 modest, well-designed houses compatible in scale with
Bozeman’s older neighborhoods. The design provides adequate parking while emphasizing
pedestrian pathways and connectivity including adjacency to the new Story Mill Community
Park and regional trails. Characteristics include a comfortable neighborhood scale, walkable
streetscape, modest size, simple construction and shared community spaces. Porches, front
yards, sidewalks, shared courtyards and tree-lined streets offer a welcoming setting.
The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) plans to develop the neighborhood in its
entirety ensuring a level of quality design and overall coordination. Exceeding the standards of
Bozeman’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, 50 percent of the houses will be perpetually
affordable to households of moderate income. A new community land trust (CLT) will be
established, drawing on the expertise and capacity of HRDC, to permanently preserve the
condition and availability of affordably priced homes at Bridger View. Market rate and CLT
homes will be interspersed throughout the site, indistinguishable in quality and design.
This project will create an innovative neighborhood that provides an inventory of homes that are
permanently affordable. As a community based-model, it integrates private development, non-
profit and philanthropic investments along with cost-sharing for offsite infrastructure upgrades by
the City of Bozeman through the Capital Improvements Plan.
History
The site is an 8-acre parcel of land located at the junction of Bridger Drive and Story Mill Road.
A dense development plan was approved for the parcel and surrounding properties in 2008 but
failed after changing the zoning, annexing into the city and closing the 92-family trailer park. The
Trust for Public Land (TPL) acquired the property in 2012 as part of the larger Story Mill
Community Park development plan. TPL transferred the property to HRDC and formed a
partnership to develop the Bridger View conceptual plan and support for the housing
neighborhood.
The following entitlement and outreach steps have been completed to date:
• In 2017, the Bridger View Concept Planned Unit Development (PUD) was informally
reviewed by the Development Review Committee, the Design Review Board, the
Planning Board and the City Commission.
• The Subdivision Pre-Application was reviewed in April of 2019 by the Development
Review Committee and the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.
Bridger View PUDP & PLAT Applications
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• A Growth Policy Map Amendment and Zone Map Amendment were both approved in
Summer 2019 by the City Commission.
• Neighbors and community members were invited to an August 1, 2019 informational
meeting and provided positive comments and responses to the development team
partnership.
The team has carefully analyzed all of the feedback from City departments, elected officials,
volunteer boards, neighbors and potential future residents.
Project Overview & Design Intent
Bridger View’s goal is lasting affordability and livability. Through the lens of this longer view, the
quality of construction and materials and the integrity of the natural systems that will sustain the
neighborhood become even more important. The Bridger View Owners Association will exercise
long-term stewardship of the entire neighborhood as detailed in the Design Guidelines and
covenants. Community Land Trust families will have the added support and stewardship of that
entity.
Bridger View, with a net density of 7.9 houses/acre, offers a variety of clustered attached and
detached homes that range in size from 750 to 1,575 square feet. This product type fills a gap
that is in limited supply in Bozeman and fits within the greater neighborhood context. Lots,
ranging in size from 1700 to 3650 square feet, are sized to accommodate modest front yards
and usable front porches, with back and/or side yards as private outdoor space.
Long-term sustainability and affordability are being achieved for both the neighborhood and
individual home construction. LEED for Neighborhood Design is being pursued as well as a
sustainability framework for the homes, which emphasis well-built construction techniques that
meet national best practices in sustainability, lowering both initial costs and long-term
operations and maintenance costs.
The site has direct vehicular access to two major streets, Bridger Drive and Story Mill Road and
exceptional pedestrian and bike connectivity via the existing Story Mill Spur Trail, the new Path
to the M as well as trails throughout Story Mill Community Park. While Hillside Lane will be built
to the city’s standard for public streets, the other internal streets are intentionally smaller in
scale commensurate with older neighborhood streets. These “shared streets” are designed to
limit the speed of cars, making them safe and friendlier places. Adequate parking is accessed
from alleys and the simplified street grid and compact development give ready access to the site
for emergency vehicles.
Everyday safety is a primary concern in the design of Bridger View. A key component of this is
right sized streets that slow vehicles moving through the neighborhood and a site plan laid out
to provide efficient access to units by emergency vehicles, residents, and guests.
This application is purposefully very different than a typical suburban residential subdivision. In
a compact neighborhood such as this, it is essential that every site element from unit sizes and
setbacks to utility spacing and street widths is thoroughly analyzed and thoughtfully designed to
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be the right scale without sacrificing safety and functionality. This scaling down results in the
need for relaxations from code standards. Wherever possible, national best practices are
incorporated into the project.
Document Organization
Two concurrent applications are being submitted for this project:
• The Preliminary PUD sets the stage for the neighborhood with Design Guidelines that
are written to uphold the sustainable pattern established by the development and
construction of the project. Relaxations are requested for design excellence and for
alternative new standards that enhance and protect health, safety and welfare. PUD
Points help to quantify the community benefit of this project.
• The Preliminary Plat permits a subdivision to allow the homes to sit on individual lots,
compatible with the ownership model.
While the applications are separate, they are dependent on one another. Some key documents,
such as the Design Guidelines, are repeated in both submittals to allow advisory boards that
may only be reviewing one application to have more access to the data and information and
underlying intent of the overall project.