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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