HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-21-20 Public Comment - R. Krueger - Community Plan Comments 2020-07-21P: 406.582.8988 f: 406.582.8911 www.intrinsikarchitecture.com 111 North Tracy Ave Bozeman Montana 59715
21 July 2020
City of Bozeman Planning Board
121 North Rouse Avenue
Bozeman, Montana 59715
RE: Bozeman Community Plan Update
SUBJECT: Final Draft Comments
Dear Planning Board Members -
I write today to submit the following comments and recommendations related to the final draft of the
plan:
- The term “commercial centers” is used to define the Residential Mixed-Use Land Use
Description, is included in the details of Goal DCD-3.5, and used in describing the importance of
Theme 3.
o “Commercial centers” are not defined within the Community Plan, however the Unified
Development Code (UDC) defines the term “neighborhood commercial center.” If it is
the intention of Plan to rely on this UDC definition for commercial centers please
include this reference with the Plan.
o The standard dictionary meaning of “commercial centers” is inelegant and would likely
not suffice for the requirements of the Plan. An alternate definition to what is provided
by the UDC, adapted from the American Planning Association’s A Planners Dictionary,
may also be sufficient or provide fodder for crafting a more appropriate Community
Plan definition:
▪ Commercial Center (district) - A mix of commercial land uses typically serving
more than one residential neighborhood, usually a subarea of the city, with
services and retail goods. This term also includes small commercial areas
providing limited retail goods and services, such as groceries and dry cleaning for
nearby residential customers.
- The Plan definition for “net acres” does not align with the UDC.
o The UDC, under the term “net residential density”, establishes that the calculation of
net acreage would also remove the site area used for “…public buildings or private non-
residential uses.”
o As net acreage can significantly influence site development, alignment between the Plan
and the UDC for this term is crucial.
- The definition of “infill” specifies that such development “…is located on land subdivided for at
least 35 years.”
o 35 years seems arbitrary to the definition of infill, and this requirement may not fully
capture the range of infill sites within the City (Ex. The Arrowleaf Park and Perennial
P: 406.582.8988 f: 406.582.8911 www.intrinsikarchitecture.com 111 North Tracy Ave Bozeman Montana 59715
Park project site (File No. 20-153) is decidedly an infill site, although the parcel was not
created by a subdivision that is 35 years old.).
o Suggest removing this requirement or changing the language to “…can/may be located
on land subdivided for at least 35 years.”
- Finally, while it is not the objective of this Advisory Board to consider all future actions that may
arise from implementation of the Plan, there exists the real possibility that a significant number
of parcels will no longer have Community Plan compliant zoning following this Plan’s adoption.
This would be due to changes in the underlying future land use category or the implementing
zoning districts for each category.
o If it is the intention of this Board to recommend that the City pursue city-initiated zone
map amendments to remedy this concern, this prospect should be clearly stated either
within the plan or in the recommendation forward to the City Commission.
o If this is not the Board’s intention, that should also be plainly stated. Leaving this
decision to City Staff may lead to confusion and mismanagement of time necessary to
implement other Plan strategies that have previously been identified as important by
the Planning Board.
Thank you for your consideration of these comments and recommendations.
Sincerely,
Ryan Krueger, AICP