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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-21 Public Comment - J. Lee - North Central Master Site Plan 21029From:Jennie Lee To:Danielle Garber; Agenda Subject:Public comment, North Central Master Site Plan, Application #21029 Date:Friday, December 3, 2021 3:51:11 PM Attachments:PublicComment_NorthCentralProject_JLee.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Ms. Garber, Please find attached my public comment letter regarding the proposed North Central project(Application #21029). Respectfully, Jennifer Lee 322 N. Tracy Ave.Bozeman, MT 59715 303.817.5875 mobilejennieblee@gmail.com Submitted via email December 3, 2021 City of Bozeman Department of Community Development ATTN: Planner Danielle Garber PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 dgarber@bozeman.net; agenda@bozeman.net RE: Public Comment, North Central Master Site Plan, Application #21029 Dear Ms. Garber, My name is Jennifer (Jennie) Lee and I live at 322 N. Tracy Ave. My husband and I purchased the home in 2012. He is a Bozeman native, and I arrived from Idaho in 1993 to attend MSU. Our home sits on the southeast corner of Tracy Ave. and Villard St., within the North Tracy Historic District. It is directly east of, and across the street from Building 3-4 (“The Henry”), which is part of the much larger North Central Project that has been proposed by HomeBase Partners (Application #21029). This letter is a response to the proposed project. According to the application materials, the North Central Project encompasses 4.4 acres on four city blocks within the B-3 district. If approved, it is my understanding it will be the largest such development that has occurred within the B-3 and, more generally, the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District. Nine buildings, all of which can be up to 70 ft high, will be constructed, resulting in 367 new dwellings for rent or sale. Except for Building 3-4 (“The Henry”), I was unable to locate individual building heights in the application materials provided on the City Planning website, but I assume most if not all will be built to the maximum height, and I believe one of the buildings is planned as a hotel. The northeast corner of the development, where the 70-ft-high, 6-story “The Henry” building (Building 3-4) is proposed for construction, abuts the North Tracy Historic District. Building 3-3 is also across the street from the district. Additionally, the proposed Mountain View West and Mountain View East buildings are located on the site of the historic Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, which is proposed for demolition as part of the project (see Application #21385). The hospital was recommended eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 2015 (Carpenter 2015a). It is not my intention that the proposed development be denied. Rather, this letter is primarily a request to the City of Bozeman and the developers, HomeBase Partners, to please consider the adverse effects the project will have on the North Tracy Historic District and to adjust the design of Building 3-4 (“The Henry”), specifically, to be more compatible with the historic character of the neighboring district. Second, I urge the City and HomeBase Partners to reconsider demolition of the Deaconess Hospital building and instead find a way to repurpose it. Garber, 12/03/2021 Page 2 North Tracy Historic District Bozeman currently has 10 National Register-listed historic districts: one that encompasses the Main Street commercial area, five to the south of Main Street, and three north of Main Street. The districts on the north side of Main St. include the Bozeman Brewery District, the Northern Pacific-Story Mill District, and the North Tracy District. The historic significance of the Bozeman Brewery District and the Northern Pacific-Story Mill District is tied to the economic development of Bozeman in the late 19th through mid-20th centuries. (Unfortunately, demolition of the Lehrkind brewing complex in 2014 significantly impacted the historic integrity of the brewery district.) In contrast, the North Tracy Historic District is the only residential historic district on the north side of Bozeman. The North Tracy Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on October 23, 1987. A copy of the nomination form is available at https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/ AssetDetail?assetID=9ccd0e14-84d3-48a1-9352-e6634860fd60. The district consists of 29 residences in a two-block area along N. Tracy Ave. between Beall St. and Peach St., and its period of significance is defined as 1890-1930. My home, 322 N. Tracy Ave. and my neighbor to the south at 316 N. Tracy Ave. are identified as “primary” to the district, anchoring its south end. The house at 316 N. Tracy Ave. is a Vernacular/Colonial Revival-style home built between 1900 and 1904. Our house, at 322 N. Tracy Ave., is a 1 ½ story built in the vernacular I-House style in 1890 by George Harrison, an African American carpenter. It is described as “one of the best of the few remaining examples in Bozeman of the I-House building type.” The houses at 402 and 403 N. Tracy Ave., directly north and northeast of Building 3-4, are contributing elements of the historic district, meaning they retain sufficient integrity to support the significance of the district. The NRHP nomination form provides the following summary of the district, The North Tracy Avenue Historic District, which contains a cross-section of houses ranging from the elaborate Damerall House, 319 [sic] N. Tracy, and Harrison House, 322 N. Tracy, to the very modest Perkins House, 416 N. Tracy, is an important remnant of Bozeman’s historic development. No other group of residences north of Main Street, historically the working class area of the city, remains intact as a cohesive architectural entity, recalling by their present appearance the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The process for listing in the NRHP is quite rigorous. In addition to meeting other criteria, a property (including a district) must possess sufficient integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association to convey historic significance (National Park Service 1997). The North Tracy Historic District has been found to meet the requirements of listing and is a nationally designated historic district. The current design of Building 3-4 in the proposed North Central development threatens the historic integrity of the district by impacting setting and feeling. Setting refers to the character of the place where the historic resource is located, including view sheds. Feeling is a “property’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time.” Both the setting and the feeling of the district will be negatively impacted by the construction of a 6-story, 70-ft- tall, square-sided and flat-roofed building immediately across the street from the modest, 1- and 2- story, hipped-roof, predominantly single-family residences that characterize the district. Negative impacts to the NRHP-listed North Tracy Historic District could be mitigated by re-design of Building 3-4, Garber, 12/03/2021 Page 3 particularly the portion of the building that faces the district. For example, the north and east elevations of the proposed building could be re-designed to “step down” to provide a less severe transition into the district. Another option would be to increase the building’s set-back distance from N Tracy Ave and Villard St to increase the amount of street-side open space. I recognize that both options reduce the amount of useable (i.e., saleable) real estate, but I ask that City planners and HomeBase Partners exercise some social responsibility. Just because city zoning allows HomeBase Partners to build to a certain vertical and horizontal extent does not mean that they should. Bozeman Deaconess Hospital My second concern with the proposed North Central project relates to the demolition of the historic Bozeman Deaconess Hospital building and its replacement with two, 70-ft-tall buildings (Mountain View East and Mountain View West). Development on the hospital property is included in the North Central Master Plan and an application for demolition of the hospital building has also been submitted to the City (#21385). The proposed North Central development encompasses an area with a deep connection to Bozeman’s medical history, including the locations of the Bozeman Sanitarium, the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, the Mountain View Nursing Home, and the Bozeman Medical Arts Center. Zoning of this area as B-3 is clearly tied to its historic establishment as a healthcare hub and the presence of these medical facilities. While not all are historically significant in the framework of the NRHP, the extant buildings represent a cohesive tie to Bozeman’s history. The southern part of the project along Lamme St. encompasses the site of the Bozeman Sanitarium, which subsequently became Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. The sanitarium was built around the turn of the 20th century and was the first centralized healthcare facility in the Gallatin Valley. It was followed in 1920 by the current brick building that is proposed for demolition, which was designed by prominent local architect Fred Willson and retained portions of the earlier sanitarium complex. The Deaconess Hospital Building was recommended eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under criteria A, B, and C for its association with the growth and development of Bozeman, its association with significant historic people, and its architectural characteristics, respectively (Carpenter 2015a). The fact that this building meets three of the four NRHP eligibility criteria is particularly noteworthy and should be carefully considered in the City’s demolition permit application review process. The Medical Arts Center and the Nursing Home are also historic, dating to 1967 and 1957, respectively, but are not eligible for NRHP listing (Carpenter 2015b, 2015c). I urge the City to work with HomeBase Partners to preserve and repurpose the NRHP-eligible Deaconess Hospital building, not including the Mountain View Nursing Home section on the corner of Tracy Ave. and Lamme St. There are several examples in Bozeman where adaptive reuse of historic buildings has been successful, including 300 W Main (multi-family units) and Montana Ale Works (commercial space). According to a Structural Conditions Assessment of the building conducted by DCI Engineers under contract with HomeBase Partners, the building has structural issues but it is not a lost cause. The engineers concluded (Lorenz 2020), Garber, 12/03/2021 Page 4 the building requires significant upgrades to ensure it can function adequately and provide life-safety to the occupants following a renovation or adaptive reuse. A thorough cost-benefit analysis is highly recommended as to what can be reasonably salvaged while still providing a functional and safe building from all aspects in conjunction with the structural integrity. DCI Engineers’ findings indicate that while demolition may be the simplest (and cheapest) way forward for the developer, it is by no means the only option. Has the recommended cost-benefit analysis been conducted and, if so, what were the results? If such an analysis has not been conducted, why not? Many significant historic buildings in Bozeman, including my 1890 home, likely do not meet current building code. That is not justification to demolish them. I hope the City will recognize the historic value of this building to the community and encourage its adaptive reuse within the proposed development. At minimum, if the City does approve the demolition permit, HomeBase Partners needs to be held accountable for the significant loss and work with the City Historic Preservation Officer, qualified professionals, and the public to identify and satisfy appropriate mitigation of adverse effects to this NRHP-eligible building. Heritage resources have clear social and economic value, and development impacts to them should be seriously considered in all planning decisions. Historic preservation and the listing of properties in the NRHP provides prestigious recognition to significant properties, bolsters community pride, helps promote tourism and economic development, supports local heritage education activities, encourages sustainability, and increases property values. A 2013 report by the Utah State Historic Preservation Office notes that the rates of appreciation of homes in historic districts in five cities were greater than those in the city as a whole (UT SHPO 2013). Similar results have been reported by the State of Washington (WA SHPO 2006). The loss of these resources can have both short- and long-term, cumulative effects on a community. Many people are drawn to Bozeman not only for its beautiful natural setting but also for its representation of a community with historic depth and stability. Those characteristics are most clearly exemplified in the City’s historic architecture, particularly in the downtown core and adjacent neighborhoods. This includes the North Central project area. When those historic elements are removed or negatively altered, the community risks losing the very thing that drew people to it in the first place. The City has shown their support of historic preservation and the community’s unique historic character by becoming one of 16 Montana communities with certified local government (CLG) status, making it eligible for grants to support local historic preservation efforts. The CLG program is administered by the Montana Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and carries with it several criteria for certification, including establishment of a qualified Historic Preservation commission and appointment of a local Historic Preservation Officer, both of whom must be included in local planning decisions (Schliesman et al. 2005). Implicit in CLG status is a commitment to responsible management of heritage resources. It is imperative that the Bozeman Historic Preservation Officer and the Historic Preservation Commission be involved in all planning decisions related to the proposed North Central development project due to its significant threat to historic properties. The preservation of the setting and feeling of the North Tracy Historic District is not only relevant to the district’s continued NRHP-listing status but Garber, 12/03/2021 Page 5 also to the historic integrity of the entire city. Further, the potential demolition of the eligible Deaconess Hospital requires review and comment by the Commission as part of Bozeman’s designation as a CLG (Schliesman et al. 2005:9). In closing, I remind City planners that the nomination of the North Tracy Historic District to the NRHP was a direct result of a City-sponsored historic resource survey that was conducted in the 1980s to identify significant historic properties and aid with planning decisions. The City’s on-going support of updating that survey (https://www.bozeman.net/government/historic-preservation/architectural- survey) reflects the value that Planning staff place on recognizing Bozeman’s historic built environment and their commitment to preserving significant resources. The North Tracy Historic District and the Deaconess Hospital have both been identified as significant properties within Bozeman, and they deserve responsible and respectful treatment. Thank you for your time and attention to this letter. I appreciate the City’s continued notification of all future public meetings related to this project, either by phone, email, or regular mail. My contact information is provided below. Respectfully, Jennifer Borresen Lee 322 N. Tracy Ave. Bozeman, Montana 59715 (303) 817-5875 mobile jennieblee@gmail.com References: Carpenter, Scott L. 2015a Montana Historic Property Record for 15 W Lamme St. Prepared by InteResources Planning, Inc., Bozeman, Montana. Document on file at the City of Bozeman Planning Department. Also available online at https://www.bozeman.net/government/historic-preservation. 2015b Montana Historic Property Record for 300 N Willson Ave. Prepared by InteResources Planning, Inc., Bozeman, Montana. Document on file at the City of Bozeman Planning Department. Also available online at https://www.bozeman.net/government/historic-preservation. 2015c Montana Historic Property Record for 205 N Tracy Ave. Prepared by InteResources Planning, Inc., Bozeman, Montana. Document on file at the City of Bozeman Planning Department. Also available online at https://www.bozeman.net/government/historic-preservation. Schliesman, Rolene R., Lon Johnson, Patricia Bik, Patricia McLaughlin Boyle, Patricia Jacques, and Chere Jiusto 2015 The Montana Certified Local Government Manual. Prepared by the Montana Historic Preservation Office, Helena. Electronic document, https://mhs.mt.gov/Shpo/docs/CLG_Manual.pdf, accessed 12/1/2021. National Park Service 1997 How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. National Register Bulletin No. 15. National Park Service, Washington, D.C. Garber, 12/03/2021 Page 6 Utah State Historic Preservation Office (UT SHPO) 2013 Profits Through Preservation: The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Utah, Executive Summary. Electronic document, https://www.placeeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/profits-through-preservation_utah- execsumm.pdf, accessed 12/1/2021. Washington State Historic Preservation Office (WA SHPO) 2006 The Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation in Washington State, Executive Summary. Electronic document, https://www.achp.gov/initiatives/community-revitalization-economic-benefits/area-studies, accessed 12/1/2021.