HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-03-21 Public Comment - G. & C. Shanafelt - Lazarawicz Annexation 3 July 2021
Bozeman City Clerk
121 North Rouse Avenue
PO Box 1230
Bozeman, Mt. 59715
Aplication#20365
Dear Sir,
My wife and I attended the recent Zoning Commission Hearing on 28 June 21' concerning the
proposed development of the 40 acre wheat field directly West of our home on 5590 Staffanson Road,
reference application#20365 with interest.
It is obvious that the developer is intent on saying anything he thinks will win approval of his request to
develop this land whether true or not.
My wife and know full well that this project in some shape will eventually be approved but again we
ask that it be done in a reasonable and sensible way using some common sense. It is our view that the
density of this project is too dense and the traffic flow to and from this proposed project makes no good
sense at all, it doesn't take a traffic engineer to see the problem this project creates.
The "transportation network" that is proposed will simply not work. First you already have the traffic
from Huffine Lane traveling to and from MSU on Cottonwood road as well as that traffic to and from
the Town Pump on the already busy corner. The new hospital facility that was mentioned to be at
Gooch Hill road in the zoning meeting is actually on the corner of Huffine and Cottonwood lane which
is already bringing additional traffic to the busy corner.
Along with this traffic are the residents of Loyal Gardens and the future traffic from the new housing
development that is being built directly behind the Town Pump which we understand will bring in the
neighborhood of an additional 400 residences.
Now along with this congestion it is being proposed to add traffic from the proposed subdivision from
two roads from Staffanson Subdivision plus through Loyal Gardens onto to Cottonwood Road. Doing
the math, at full build out of these two projects it seems there will be way too many vehicles accessing
Cottonwood road which will cause gridlock to say the least even with road being widened from Loyal
Gardens south to the roundabout on Stuckey.
Loyal Gardens like similar subdivisions in Bozeman are built on such small lots that overflow is parked
in the streets such as drift boats,RV's,work trucks,snowmobiles and family vehicles that can't be
parked in the driveway or garage which results in the two lane road being reduced to 1 1/2 lanes.
At any rate the traffic on Cottonwood will probably back up south down Cottonwood to the point that
it will be necessary to wait through a series of lights to access Huffine. It will also be difficult to access
Cottonwood road from Loyal Gardens and the new project behind the Town Pump when traffic does
back up.
I have never seen a traffic counter on Cottonwood Road but if this has been done it would be
interesting to see the existing numbers in order to anticipate future traffic and how it would work or not
work.
The developer stated that traffic could be much more on the existing roads with modifications and
could withstand considerable more traffic than exists today which may be true but is this sensible to
load up roads to their maximum capacity??Where does quality of life enter into the request?
If alternate access to this project is not found then Staffanson Road will become a construction access
road which.will result in years of intense traffic and difficulty in getting in and out of our area.
The last issue-we have is EMS,will these anticipated bottle necks and 90 degree turns result in
increased response times?What about large, heavy fire vehicles? If a bridge is built across the
°7ir.ngation canal will it be designed to support a fire vehicle?How would an emergency vehicle be able
to'turn south on Cottonwood Road off of Huffine during peak traffic time or for that matter north from
Stuckey with the road fiill of vehicles?
The bottom line is this project in our view is not well though out at all, the developer needs to go back
to the drawing board and find additional access to this project that doesn't negatively affect the
immediate area like the present proposal does.
We would like to note too that we did not appreciate the lecture by the commission member who went
on about that he was sick and tired of hearing of people with"not in my back yard" mentalities.We
don't feel we fall into that category but also know that it is a natural emotion to nearby development.
The commission member needs to keep his personal opinions to himself, he was elected to represent all
the people...
Yes we are in a small inclusive area here on Staffanson Road and speaking for ourselves we understand
the desire to develop this piece of property but take exception to the way it is presently being proposed
with the high density and the lack of any kind of sensible traffic pattern.
Respectfully submitted,
PAL,
Gary&Christiine Shanafelt
5590 Staffanson Road
Bozeman, Mt. 59718
406.586.0256
gcshanafelt@gmail.com