HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-24-21 Public Comment - N. & L. Snively - Canyon GateFrom:Nancy Snively
To:Agenda
Cc:Ross Knapper
Subject:Canyon Gate re-zoning & development
Date:Friday, September 24, 2021 4:03:16 PM
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September 24, 2021
To Whom It May Concern,We are writing you today out of concern about the proposed re-zoning and development of “Canyon Gate” locatedat the NE corner of Story Mill Road and Bridger Drive. We believe it is inconsistent with the character and interestsof the surrounding communities, showing disregard for both human values and the wild life that live nearby.
We bought our home in the Legends at Bridger Creek six years ago. Some of the reasons we purchased specificallyin this neighborhood are:• how quiet it is here• the presence of wildlife - we’ve seen deer, bears, a moose in the area, and evenhad a weasel visit our porch one day• the feel of community and having streets that are safe to walk or ride a bike on• the dark skies• proximity to stores and restaurants in downtown Bozeman, and nearby areas likethe Cannery
Thus, we are vehemently opposed to the suggested plans for the annexation and development by HomeBase Partnersof Canyon Gate as presented to Legends HOA. We feel it would void all the reasons we bought in The Legends inthe first place. We have stayed in other areas of town near apartment buildings and such and were alarmed by theamount of noise - 24 hours a day - in addition to the excessive amount of lighting. Developing this land in line withthe current “future land use map” as HomeBase Partners suggests, would greatly alter the Legends neighborhoodand surrounding area.
We feel it would no longer be this nice quiet neighborhood. With increased human traffic (people, cars, buildings),wildlife will also be affected. Deer have always occupied those fields and the animals that use that corridor to travelbetween the Bridgers/Bridger Creek and Story Hills will be blocked. A plan with such high density, as well as nonorth/ south open space land in it will surely have a huge negative impact on wildlife. Additionally, skirting therequired amount of park land for humans with “in lieu of”, is a disservice to everyone.
With three of the four access points mapped for coming through Legends, increased traffic will be detrimental to ourneighborhood in many ways. Noise is one. But safety is another. I wouldn’t want my grandchildren riding theirbikes on Boylan and the other streets with it being an entrance to that area.
More people, stores and other businesses, will certainly add light pollution to our treasured “dark skies”. Will wehave to drive up Bridger Canyon to see the stars?Personally, I don’t feel that we need more stores and coffee shops adjacent to the Legends. With The Stockyards, itsounds like plenty of things will be coming to the Story Mill Community Park area, we have the Cannery nearby,and I feel it will be overkill to have more. Only a limited number of same type businesses can survive in a small areaanyway.
Another thing we sincerely hope will be taken into consideration when reviewing this plan is safety. Adding higherdensity properties to the area when 62 homes are currently being built adjacent to Story Mill Community Park, addsmore and more traffic to Bridger Drive, Griffin and Rouse. There are already safety concerns due to the trainsblocking the streets and access to emergency response, in both directions. Why make this situation worse, especially
before addressing this critical issue?
Let me be clear here that we fully understand that, like it or not, development is inevitable. Bozeman already has a
housing crisis and we are not opposed to R-1,2,3 zoning and hope the average Bozemanite can afford to live there.However, the current plan presented by HomeBase Partners for that property does not include Affordable Housingand, as evidenced in their other local projects, plus what Andrew Gault from HomeBase said, the plannedapartments/condos would be high end units. How does this help the area?
Overall, I feel that annexing this land and developing it to be high density and large commercial property, with tallbuildings blocking the views, instead of R1, R2 and R3 to align with the other properties surrounding the parcel willonly benefit the developers and will lower the property values and quality of life for those who have alreadyinvested/bought in The Legends and neighboring area.
Please, please take these things into consideration when making decisions about that land and what Bozeman, andthis part of town, is to become. Thank you.
Sincerely,Nancy and Leslie Snively