HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-29-21 Public Comment - D. Kaveney - Canyon GateFrom:Dan Kaveney
To:Ross Knapper
Cc:Agenda
Subject:Canyon Gate #21-337 9/29/2021 Public Comment Zoning and Uses from Dan Kaveney
Date:Wednesday, September 29, 2021 8:26:31 PM
Attachments:Yahoo RE_ Canyon Gate #21-337 9-29-2021 Zoning & Uses.pdfUntitled attachment 00013.htmMap1-2020 Community Plan Bozeman Planning Area pg7 BLUE DOT.jpgUntitled attachment 00016.htmMap2-2020 Community Plan Conservation WILDLIFE mtns-crk.jpgUntitled attachment 00019.htm
Dear Mr. Knapper,
Please find attached a note you recieved earlier today from my neighbor, Mary Wictor. I was just sitting
down to write a note to you, read Mary’s in preparation, and discovered that I agree with everything she
said. So for efficiency’s sake I've attached her letter here. No need for you to read it again, but please treat
Mary's comments as my own.
I will add that I think this proposal is inconsistent with the intent of the community plan even though the
future land use map could possibly allow such zoning as requested. The community plan states that the
city’s primary function is to provide a safe, healthy, and high-quality environment that supports the
physical, social, and economic welfare of its residents (p. 21). On page 20, where the basic principles
applied in creating the plan are outlined, the plan emphasizes the importance of preserving the health and
well-being of the public, responding to infrastructure limitations and natural constraints to development, and
ensuring that the transportation infrastructure is adequate to the needs at hand. I’ve earlier written to you
about the burgeoning traffic problems on Bridger Canyon Dr/Rouse Ave. They are already inadequate to the
needs at hand BEFORE the Bridger View subdivision and the new Law and Justice Center are completed (I
include the Law and Justice Center in my thinking because the logical way to access it from the north and
from the N 7th highway interchange will be Griffin Dr, Oak St, and Rouse Ave).
Approving this application for the requested zoning will violate all of the basic plan precepts outlined above
because the local road infrastructure is/would be inadequate to maintain safety and to support the social
welfare of local residents. Further, the proposal ignores current infrastructure limitations which are largely
produced by natural constraints such as the pinch points produced by the mouth of Bridger Canyon, the
Story Hills, various wetlands and streams in the area, and the railroad. The railroad crossings are, for all
practical purposes, a natural constraint just like a river. When a train is present it cannot be crossed, and
MDOT has made it very clear that they will not be building the underpasses at Rouse and Griffin that would
be needed to safely add more traffic to this road. The road infrastructure in this part of town is already
inadequate to existing needs, and the railroad and other natural constraints in the area (as well as MDOT’s
budget and priorities) mean that for all practical purposes it cannot be substantively improved.
Consequently, no high density development should be approved in this part of town because doing so would
be to recklessly ignore important public safety needs, and would also violate many of the key principles and
priorities set forward in the city plan.
I believe the people writing the plan were probably unaware of coming traffic problems on Rouse/Bridger
Dr. when allowing those denser zoning areas to be included on the map since including them is at odds with
so many of the basic principles laid out in the plan.
Thanks so much for your time and effort. I appreciate it greatly.
Dan Kaveney
1496 Boylan Rd
Bozeman, MT 59715