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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-25-21 Public Comment - B. Ernst - Board ConsolidationFrom:agenda@bozeman.net To:Agenda Subject:Thank you for your public comment. Date:Tuesday, May 25, 2021 10:33:31 AM A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted. Form Name:Public Comment Form Date & Time:05/25/2021 10:33 AM Response #:1101 Submitter ID:38675 IP address:69.145.204.234 Time to complete:2 min. , 48 sec. Survey Details Page 1 Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options. Public comment may also be given at any public meeting. Email: agenda@bozeman.net Mail to: Attn: City Commission PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771 First Name Brady Last Name Ernst Email Address bradyernst@gmail.com Phone Number 4065700530 Comments For the City Commission Agenda on May 25th regarding the working session on consolidation of citizen advisory boards: First, I want to disclose I am a current member of the Design Review Board (DRB) and a licensed architect. But overall, I am in support of consolidation of many/most advisory boards. Especially, advisory boards that seldom, or rarely, meet, such as: the Tree Advisory Board or the Bozeman Beautification Board. These boards could easily be consolidated to provide more timely feedback to the City Commission. The largest argument against the consolidation/elimination of boards - is that citizens won't have a voice or presence in the community. While I agree, there may be a drop of 'expert' advisors mandated to offer their opinion in their specific advisory topic; I hope these citizen advocates remain engaged, and that the strongest opinions still are heard by the City Commission (and not just devolve into the Bozeman Daily Chronicle Facebook comment thread). However, as I know firsthand from DRB, these citizen advisors are just 'advising'; the decision is ultimately made by either the City of Bozeman or the elected City Commissioners, regardless of whether the advisor is on a board or just a citizen. Speaking directly about the consolidation of the new proposed ‘Community Development Board’ - This board seeks to combine the City Planning Board, Zoning Commission, Bozeman Historical Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB), and the Design Review Board (DRB). Currently, DRB members cannot jointly serve on either the Zoning or Planning Boards. And considering the DRB is the last advisory board to review projects - they can only offer limited design guidance over formerly approved zoning or planning requirements, and often several years after Planned Unit Developments (PUD’s) begin. Notably, the new composition of the ‘Community Development Board’ proposes for all 7 members to either be a professional historic preservationist, or have an interest or knowledge in historic preservation. Considering the ‘Community Development Board’ will “influence the direction of our community’s growth and development” - the predominant interest of every member should not be historic preservation focused. Historic preservation is a broad social good, but it is a trade-off from affordability. While singular historic landmarks help preserve community values, numerous studies have shown that entire neighborhood preservation districts lead to UNAFFORDABLE housing. For the future growth of Bozeman, the entire Community Development Board cannot treat historic preservation as the predominant urban metric. Looking through the lens of current day Bozeman; with a burgeoning influx of new residents and consistently low or average wages, the largest issue facing Bozeman’s near future is in fact a housing affordability crisis. Unaffordability is not only a community problem, but a national problem; and Bozeman should be on the forefront of innovative solutions, instead of becoming the embodiment of unaffordable housing. To distill it down: consolidation of advisory boards is good; but the compositions of these new boards must be inclusive of the prior boards’ memberships. The ‘Community Development Board’ shouldn’t become the Historic Preservation Board with even greater influence. Thank you for your time, Brady Ernst 809 E. Davis St. Bozeman, MT 59715 If you would like to submit additional documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .gif, .jpg, .png, .rtf, .txt) along with your comment, you may alternately address agenda@bozeman.net directly to ensure receipt of all information. Thank you, City Of Bozeman This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email.