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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-21 Public Comment - D. Brawner - Buffalo Run • receive I .25• z � Diane L. Brawner 106 Village Downtown Blvd Bozeman, MT, 59715 January 22, 2021 City of Bozeman Dept. of Community Development ATTN: Chris Saunders ,, To the City Commission, the Department of Community Development and Chris Saunders regarding Application 20112: I am addressing all of writing you to protest the proposed R5 rezoning, development, and annexation of the 20.79 acres adjacent to my 40 acre parcel that borders the proposed development along Fowler and my additional 40 acre parcel that borders the Meadowcreek subdivision along Kurk and 27tn I am the sole owner of these property/parcels which are currently in City of Bozeman payback districts. My 2 parcels are legally described as: S23 T02 S R05 E, C.O.S. 1861 Tract A NE4SW4 40.773AC 06-0798-23-3-01-50-0000 S23 T02 S R05 E, C.O.S. Tract 1 Section 23 2S 5E 40.735AC COS 2074 06-0798-23-3-01-10- 0000 In my first communication to Chris Saunders prior to the Zoning Commission meeting of Jan 7, 2021, 1 did not use the term "protest" as required by State Law. And since the Zoning meeting, I have learned of additional, applicable reasons to protest this large development (see below.) I realize that development in the Bozeman area is inevitable. In fact, I have complied with THREE past requests for city easements and with developers on 3 sides of my property (along my entire east border and parts of my northern and southern borders.) But I rp otest the proposal to rezone this new 20+ acre development in a rural property area to an R-5 residential mixed-use high density district by this out-of-state developer when the surrounding area is still rural and the developments nearby are all single family homes—essentially functioning as an R1. The proposed R5 zoning is not appropriate for this part of Bozeman and does not exist there now. Not only will this be life-changing for me since I use my land for agriculture purposes, but there are other very important considerations to which a large number of Meadowcreek subdivision home owners spoke eloquently before the Zoning Commission as to the many reasons how and why this proposed Buffalo Run subdivision will impact the quality of their lives. I will not repeat those here because I know they will. However, there are very important issues that I have since discovered that were not covered at that 4.5 hour Zoning Commission meeting on January 11th, 2021. 1 address those here: Derek Williams, the developer who is proposing the development (Application 20112) and who has contacted me personally several times last year told me in one phone conversation in November 2020 that he plans to install his development's connections to water and sewer at Stucky by going down the center of Fowler from the south end of his proposed subdivision north to Stucky, approximately 0.8 mi. In a recent conversation with Chris Budeski, PE, a well- respected and well-informed professional engineer with Madison Engineering with many years of extensive knowledge of development in this valley, Chris asserted that connecting to City services at Fowler and Stucky is the only option for Buffalo Run subdivision because: 1. the sewer system in the Meadowcreek subdivision is maintained entirely by gravity flow. There are no pumps. 2. In addition, Kurk Drive is supplied with only an 8 inch pipe, and the sewer grade is shallow (10 ft deep); the ground slopes quickly. 3. The sewer pipe size and drainage system were designed by the City based on the requirements for that specific area, and are meant to serve that district all the way to Patterson Rd. They were not designed to include service for the proposed Buffalo Run subdivision so there are no stubs that extend to Derek Williams' 20 acres. Therefore, hook ups via Kurk Dr and the Meadowcreek subdivision could not handle the needs of the large Buffalo Run subdivision via gravity flow, and the only option is to connect to sewer (and water) via Fowler all the way to Stucky. This reality leads to the real crux of this isse because of an historical conflict and a precedent ruling set by the City and County in response to a development proposed, but denied, to developers of the property owned by a New Mexico consortium who had applied to develop their 40 acres along Stucky road near Fowler (next to the Rafferty property) 5 years ago. At that time the City said that those developers would be required to put their water mains and sewer down Stucky Rd to 19th. The City also told the developers that they would be required to improve Stucky Rd to City standards with paving, curbs, and sidewalks from their development to 19th because Stucky is a collector road as well as a county road. However, an impasse quickly arose between the County and City when at that time the County determined that they would not allow the City to install improvements or City services on a county road unless the City was willing to subsequently take over the road and maintain it. City and County did not agree, and the improvement costs for the developer were prohibitively high for those required improvements. Consequently they had to scrap their development project. For New Mexico developers, this is no longer an issue since they have access to sewer and water through the Grand Cielo development. However, a precedent has been set here for expected improvements along county roads and the requirement for the City to maintain them. Fowler is an unimproved county road that will be forced to collect and absorb a tremendous amount of traffic for the huge number of proposed units in the development of Buffalo Run. It will require City upgrades. This historic precedent must apply to the proposed Buffalo Run division and its developers, who must be required to fund costs of not only bringing City services to their specific property along 0.8 miles of a County road, but also must bring that access road, now a poorly-maintained, 2 lane gravel road, to City standards, after which the City must maintain that road. Greatly concerned, Diane L. Brawner, Adjacent Property Owner