HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-05-21 Public Comment - L. Foust - Buffalo RunLUCAS J. FOUST
FOUST LAW OFFICE
3390 SOUTH 30
TH
AVENUE
BOZEMAN, MT 59718
lfoust@foustlaw.net
Web site: www.lucasfoustlaw.com
(406) 587-3720 Phone
(406) 879-4400 Fax
February 5, 2021
Cyndy Andrus
Bozeman City Commission
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
Re: Buffalo Run Development
Dear Ms. Andrus:
My wife Heather and I reside at 3390 South 30
th
Avenue, adjacent to the
proposed Buffalo Run Development.
The request of the Buffalo Run Development to an R-5 district is completely
inappropriate. While there is clearly a need for the City of Bozeman to
expand, this proposal set out to annex this island of property as an R-5
development will have a devastating impact upon residents in our
subdivision. The traffic nightmare this creates is ill-conceived and
dangerous.
Move the Monkeybars
Every 88 minutes, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash in the United States
according to the CDC. The increased traffic flow on Kurk Drive and the
removal of playground equipment to make way for the Buffalo Run
Development will make our neighborhood more dangerous. Amazingly, the
plan as submitted calls for 31
st
street to be added after the removal of
playground equipment. A family neighborhood will become a more
dangerous and deadly place if this Development is not rejected.
A Country Mile
The Buffalo Run Development is more than a mile from 19
th
street, the
nearest main roadway in the City of Bozeman. This is not what was
envisioned when R-5 developments were created by the Bozeman City
Commission. It is folly to believe that pedestrian travel will occur from Buffalo
Run to 19
th
Avenue. People will travel by cars, and lots of them! Traffic will
be a nightmare and this ill-conceived plan will do nothing to further objectives
of the City Commission.
More Sprawl, Not Less
Pursuant to 38.300.100 of the Bozeman Municipal Code, the intent and
purpose of R-5 zoning is to provide development of “a geographically
compact, walkable areas.” The code goes on to say that an R-5 zoning
district is “appropriate for areas adjacent to mixed-use districts and/or served
by transit to accommodate a higher density of residents in close proximity to
jobs and services.” The Buffalo Run Development as proposed is contrary to
this purpose. It will in fact make traffic worse without any of the benefit
proposed by R-5 developments.
Hope is not an Action Plan
The Buffalo Run Development, as proposed, is based on the premise, “if we
build it, Fowler will come.” Hope, is not an action plan. Hypothetically, the
development of Fowler may take some of the traffic off of Kurk Drive.
However, it is just as likely that Fowler will not be developed and the increase
in traffic on Kurk Drive will be significant, changing this neighborhood and
negatively affecting the families that call Meadow Creek Subdivision home.
Further, so long as Fowler is a county road, it is likely to be cleared of snow
less frequently, making Kurk Drive the route the residents use.
I join with my neighbors in opposing the Buffalo Run Development and
encourage this group to recommend the proposed development be denied.
Very truly yours,
Lucas J. Foust
Heather M. Foust
Lucas J. Foust
Heather M. Foust,
Homeowners 3390 South 30
th
Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59718
cc: Meadow Creek Board of Directors