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4515 Valley Commons Drive #201, Bozeman Montana 59718 P: 406.585.4161 F: 406.585.6919
www.bechtlearchitects.com
May 12, 2021
Chris Saunders, AICP – Community Development Manager
City of Bozeman
Community Development
20 East Olive
Bozeman, Montana, 59771
RE: Bridger Meadows Subdivision – PUD Preliminary Plan Application 20350
Dear Mr. Saunders,
In response to the City of Bozeman DRC review letters dated December 22, 2020, the Applicant has
revised and corrected the October 16, 2020, PUD Preliminary Application (20350) and the October 16,
2020, Preliminary Plat application (20351), to address the comments and concerns brought forward by
the committee. Attached please find the revised and corrected applications for your information and
review. The Applicant has addressed and updated various documents throughout the submission
packages. These are noted with the revised date of March 2, 2021 in the document titles. Within the
written documents, modifications and alterations are generally noted in blue text for ease of reference.
We look forward to moving these applications forward and working with the City to realize the
completion of the Bridger Meadows Neighborhood development.
On behalf of the Owner, Bridger Center LLC, Bechtle Architects, Morrison Maierle, and Design 5, we are
submitting the following application materials for Bridger Meadows, a proposed Planned Unit
Development (PUD) and Major Subdivision with 17 16 Residential homesites. including 2 affordable
homesites.
The property is located in the Northeast part of the City near Bridger Creek Golf Course, Northwest of
the intersection of Bridger Drive (Montana Highway 86) and Birdie Drive. The property is currently
zoned R-1. The property is bounded by commercial development accessed off Commercial Drive to the
South, The Links residential development accessed off Birdie Drive to the East, by City of Bozeman Glen
Lake Rotary Park to the west, and Bridger Creek Golf Course to the North.
The following submission is in accordance with and in response to our Concept PUD and Pre-Application
submitted December 2019, and direction provided by the City of Bozeman Planning Department
responses dated March 3, 2020. This application is also in alignment with the Director of Community
Development letter dated May 3, 2019. Based on these meetings and correspondence, major changes
to the site layout were made with the understanding that we could move forward to the “Preliminary
PUD/Preliminary Plat” stage of the review process based on the revised layout.
In making these changes, of primary concern was the strong desire to protect the existing wetlands and
floodplain from any significant impacts. While the 2019 layout proposed a wildlife refuge habitat as a
City Park with the associated street frontage requirement, the current plan requests to would provide a
“cash-in-lieu” payment rather than a dedicated City Park based on the City’s recommendations. This
change allows residential lots to back up to the wildlife refuge habitat, greatly reducing traffic noise and
Bridger Meadows – PUD Preliminary Plan Application 20350
May 14, 2021
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generally reducing human/public interaction to the natural preserve, which is the inherent nature and
goal of a wildlife refuge. In addition, in response to the December 2019 PUD Concept Review and Pre-
Plat Applications, the Applicant agreed to eliminate ten five residential lots to further reduce impacts. In
total, and in comparison to the above noted” submittals, the current plan reduces impacts to the
existing wetlands, vegetation and the 100-year floodplain of the East Gallatin River: wetlands impact
dropped from 0.74 to 0.08 0.09 acres, floodplain impact area was reduced from 1.86 to 0.41 0.39 acres,
with zero net reduction in flood storage capacity, and the current plan increases, and the size of the
wildlife refuge habitat increases from 4.63 to 7.20 7.15 acres.
Permits will be obtained for proposed impacts to wetlands and the 100-year floodplain fringe. These
include a 404 permit (wetlands) (Appendix A), CLOMR-F (conditional floodplain fill permit from FEMA),
City of Bozeman floodplain permit and LOMR-F (final floodplain permit from FEMA). UDC Section
38.220.020 indicates that wetland and floodplain permits must be provided before work begins and/or
with Final Plat Application. The Applicant is requesting that the Commission allow the CLOMR-F to be
provided as a condition of Final Plat approval, along with the floodplain permit and LOMR-F.
The Subdivision Team includes:
• Owner/Applicant: Tom Murphy, Bridger Center, LLC (406-595-1495)
• Owner’s Attorney: Alanah Griffith, Griffith & Cummings, PLLC (406-624-3585)
• Engineer: Mike Hickman, Morrison Maierle (406-922-6829)
• Architect: Scott Bechtle, Bechtle Architects (406-585-4161)
• Landscape: Kate Barrett, Design 5 Landscape Architecture (406-587-4873)
• Legal: Alanah Griffith, Griffith & Cummings, PC (406-624-3585)
The following information is included in the attached submittal:
• Bridger Meadows Neighborhood, Binder Number 1 – PUD Preliminary Plan Application
o PUD Preliminary Plan Application dated October 16, 2020, Revised March 2, 2020 and
May 14, 2021 (Affordable Housing Removal Per MCA).
o Review Fee, Check in the Amount of $TBD by Planning Dept.
• Bridger Meadows Neighborhood, Binder Number 2 – Subdivision Preliminary Plat Application
o Subdivision Preliminary Plat Application Dated October 16, 2020, Revised March 2, 2020
and May 14, 2021 (Affordable Housing Removal Per MCA).
o Updated Review Fee, Check in the Amount of $TBD by Planning Dept.
The proposal for the property consists of developing the 11.87-acre site which consists of historic upland
fallow hayfields and wetlands. The project looks to develop the hayfields into R-1 Residential lots and
associated infrastructure. In addition, the project looks to preserve approximately 7.20 7.15 acres of
prime riparian habitat and wetlands that border the City’s Glen Lake Rotary Park to the west, Bridger
Center industrial area to the south, The Links Condominiums and Village Greens Townhouses to the
east, and Bridger Creek Home Owners Association Park and Bridger Creek Golf Course to the north.
Historically, access has been a cumbersome issue for the property. Through the course of development
of adjacent properties, this property has been left essentially landlocked both in terms of access and
utilities. Over the past fifteen years this property has been presented to the City and County officials
numerous times and undergone numerous discussions and layout changes to address many of the
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access issues. With the help of the City and the adjoining developer the access and utility issues have
been resolved to the best possible extent. Due to the site constraints, the Developer will be requesting
a relaxation of UDC section 38.400.010.A.8 in order to provide emergency access for Bridger Meadows,
and to also provide emergency access to the Bridger Center Subdivision where none currently exists.
We would request the City Commission to approve this relaxation. Many of the members of the
Commission are aware of the historic access issues that have impacted this county island and the
lengths that were taken by Bridge Center LLC, at the encouragement of City Legal and the prior City
Commission, to negotiate access to the property.
The Property Owner initiated the latest review process with the City of Bozeman, Director of Community
Development, which resulted in the letter dated May 3, 2109 which outlined two paths for
development. As outlined in the Pre-Application Submission and the Concept PUD Application, the
development team followed “proposed path 2 – Planned Unit Development (PUD) with relaxation
and/or variances”. These were submitted in July of 2019 and a revised submission provided in
December of 2019.
This PUD Preliminary Plan Application responds in more detail to the direction and guidance provided by
the City with regard to the property development. The design team has addressed wetlands and
floodplains, park requirements and removed affordable housing requirements due to the recent State of
Montana legislative changes.
This PUD Preliminary Plan Application is being submitted concurrently with the Subdivision Preliminary
Plat Application for review and approval.
The proposed improvements for the Bridger Meadows development look to create a “superior quality
development.” The ultimate goal is to provide an exceptional housing development in close proximity
to a unique dedicated riparian wetland referred to throughout the documents as a “wildlife refuge,”
which will provide a neighborhood community amenity that is unlike others within the city of Bozeman.
In addition, the development will provide two lots dedicated to affordable housing, public access to
existing trail systems, and will resolve access to this once landlocked property while improving
emergency access to neighboring properties. This development will expand on existing open space
through by preserving a large wildlife refuge habitat and providing R-1 housing and two affordable
housing units for the community, while increasing the tax base with no added infrastructure cost to the
city.
On behalf of the Owner, we look forward to working with the city to creating this unique and exciting
opportunity for development that will enhance the neighborhood, local community and local
environment.
Regards,
Walter Banziger, LEED AP, AIA Mike Hickman, P. E.
Senior Architect Sr. Civil Engineer
Bechtle Architects Morrison Maierle
cc: File – Bridger Meadows 2020