HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-22-21 Public Comment - M. & T. Heriza - Buffalo Run App. 21076City of Bozeman – Dept of Community Development
121 N Rouse Ave|PO Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59715
March 21, 2021
RE: Against zoning variance- application #21076
Dear City Commissioners,
We are writing in opposition to the proposed Buffalo R. Annexation and zone map amendment application #21076 filed
2/26/21. We reside at 5180 Study Rd- corner of Fowler & Stucky due North of the proposed site. This proposed
development boarders only one side of the city limits with no proposed improvements to the Gallatin County side
(Fowler Rd). This does not appear to be infill but rather a hop scotch development. Here are the musings of Bozeman
residents as they run, bike and drive down Stucky Rd…
As one turns west onto Stucky Road off of 19th street one is soon taken by the open ground. Hay ground and farms and
small acreages dot the landscape. In places cows seem to still outnumber people. Large numbers of bicyclist and
runners find a quick exit to pastoral country side. One is challenged to find a quicker transition from the urban to the
rural than on Stucky Road. Most cities tend to sprawl in ever widening paths consuming agricultural ground in the
process. Ironically many cities are now desperate to bring agricultural ground closer to the city core. Usually
marginalized to less arable ground - often hours from the city hub - a new generation of big scale farmers on small scale
ground have become the new providers of fresh produce and other products to our city and farmer's markets. One
hears that it is inevitable that farm ground will be annexed and connected to the city core to house people and support
the growing population. Unfortunately it is also inevitable that an urban core without direct connection with its food
producing ground, riparian/ river areas and mountain foothills suffers as well. Bozeman has a new minority and that is
the farmer rancher. With 80% of our US population comfortably and uncomfortably urban the pressure on the
agricultural / rural land continues to climb. Many rapidly growing western communities have come to regret the
annexation of agricultural land. The short sightedness of rapid urban expansion without long term planning is always a
fear. The pressures from developers are understandably strong and the feeling that growth unrestrained is too often
prevents the more sustainable long view. The platitude often suggested to us country dwellers is "don't sell out" hold
onto your land that is the only way to preserve the countryside. It is apparent that it is more complicated than
that. When traffic on the road bordering your farm begins to feel like an interstate and attempts to obtain the morning
paper is thwarted by traffic hurtling by at 50 -60 mph one loses some of the essence of what brought you out here in the
first place. Never mind moving your tractor, cows or hauling implements on the road for fear of catastrophic accident,
possible death and likely lawsuit by our welcomed but often clueless new arrivals to the valley. Accommodations and
exceptions seem more often the rule when big development comes to town. Usually from regions of the country where
their building fantasies would be more aggressively challenged and often outright denied. But what about
accommodating those that seek to slow the paving and the sprawl. Do small scale farmers and other caretakers of open
spaces have a place in your design? Does growth only have to stop when you encounter federal land boundaries as seen
in other western counties once rural now urban.
Now for the facts:
1) Parcel is not adjacent to mixed-use districts, unless your definition of mixed use is alfalfa & cow/calf operations.
2) No commercial district proximal to parcel. Churches, office suites and a climbing gym may represent some form
of commerce, but it’s a stretch.
3) No transit available- the closest bus stop is at Oracle, less than a mile away but a treacherous journey for
bicyclists or pedestrians on Fowler’s dirt road and for the Stucky Rd “Highway”.
Sincerely,
May and Tom Heriza
5180 Stucky Rd. Bozeman, 59718|(406)600-5186