HomeMy WebLinkAboutADU Letter of Support - Foothold.Mark EggeSeptember 27, 2020
To whom it may concern,
I own a 6500 SF lot in the Northeast Neighborhood at the intersection of Black Avenue and
Peach Street. The sole dwelling is a 1936 "shotgun" house measuring some 570 SF and with a
studio layout. My lot is located equidistant between downtown, the cannery district, the Misco
Mill district, and Midtown. With all of my daily needs within walking distance, I seldom drive. I
believe in infill, and desire to add at least one additional dwelling unit to my lot (if only to
assuage my guilt invoked by my own role in the gentrification of the Northeast Neighborhood
and participation in driving up housing costs across the city through my own purchase).
I've retained an architect due to the peculiar geometry of my lot (37' wide and 175' long) on the
expectation that the geometry of a typical "off the shelf" ADU blueprint would not meet city code
requirements. At the time, there was no “off the shelf” option available for me to even consider.
In addition to the input of my architect, I've received the assistance of a local land use expert in
an attempt to determine the setback required on the Peach Street side of my lot. The Euclidean
Form and Intensity standards indicate 5', the form-based Block Frontage requirements indicate
10', and the Planning Department indicates 15' (but cannot provide a code reference).
I recently completed a Concept Review. The planner's report indicated that my lot is too narrow
for any development without a variance or deviation (which I expected). Being within the NCOD,
the planner recommended seeking a deviation (which has a lower "burden of proof"). It is my
understanding that the NCOD deviation can also be used for an ADU.
Due to the peculiar circumstances of my lot being platted only 37' wide (well before the advent
of zoning in Bozeman), the only path forward in order to construct an ADU on my 6500 SF R3
lot is to apply to the City for a variance (in addition to my development application and
Certificate of Appropriateness application). The variance application requires $2000 in
application fees, review by the City Commission, and at least two months. Of the issues rising to
the level of the City Commission's consideration, whether or not my desired ADU can receive a
36" exception hardly seems to rise to the level of their consideration. If I pass off of these
hurdles, I will then be positioned to see a building to construct the ADU—which, in an ideal
world, is where the challenge would begin. At that point, I expect to spend $20,000 in
application and design fees.
Mark Egge
(406) 548-4488