HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-21 Public Comment - K. Filipovich - The Ives 21165From:Karen Filipovich
To:Agenda
Subject:Comments on application 21165 - "The Ives"
Date:Friday, December 3, 2021 4:56:26 PM
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Dear Honorable Commissioners and Planning Staff:
I am writing to offer comments on application 21165, located on the block of N. Willson and
W. Villard. I have several concerns about the building, including its transition. Others have
written significant comments on those issues, and I encourage you to take those seriously. I
addressed several of those in my earlier comments during the last public comment period on
this project.
I'd like to focus your attention on the details of the parking entrances. They are both
problematic, though the one on Villard is especially problematic, given its designated role as a
commercial vehicle entrance. The applicant asked for a variance on where that entrance on
Villard would be located, since it is significantly closer to the alley than code allows. Their
safety notes in document 32 are interesting, and I agree that slow and careful drivers could
mostly ameliorate the deficiencies with space and sightlines of the placement in the summer. I
live nearby and am on that block nearly every day. I don't believe that is true in the winter.
Because plowing practices make the street progressively narrower over the course of the
winter, across street parked cars get closer and the road narrower as winter progresses. This is
a commercial entrance, so many vehicles using this entrance are likely to be larger than
average size vehicles, further exacerbating the situation because there will be less space for
vehicles to scrape by one another. Furthermore, the alley due north of the proposed
development has structures really close to alley on both sides of it. The proposed garage
entrance would be 20' to the left of that alley entrance for drivers going south. It's already
difficult to see traffic, especially from the left, from that alley. Adding significant traffic from a
recessed garage door exacerbates the sightline problem for drivers coming from that alley.
Alley traffic on the 400 block immediately north of the proposed development has already
increased, due to the 16 Willson project, to the point that the city required that the alley
should be paved, so potential for traffic conflicts has already increased and would increase
even more with residential traffic also flowing from the Ives development in the existing alley
on the block.
This commercial entrance is also located directly across from residential zoning. The proposed
development could have restaurant and office traffic, based on conditional uses, so nearby
residents could be subjected to commercial traffic noise from very early to very late at night.
An obvious solution to both these problems would be to require that the garage entrance is
moved to the North Willson side of the building. It is B-3 on both sides of the street there and
the sightlines could be made clearer since there is not an existing alley with already built
structures.
The alley entrance for the 92 residential parking spots is more subtly problematic than the
variance requested for the commercial parking entrance on W. Villard. This is a huge increase
in local traffic, borne by the adjoining residents, not by the residents of the proposed
development who will live above the impacts of the traffic generated by this development.
The city required 16 Willson to pave the alley to the north of the proposed Ives development
when 16 units changed their parking orientation from the previous design that funneled all
traffic directly to Short. There was no increase in the total units in that project, but the
increase of the use of that alley is significant, even though the entire project is not yet
complete. In the proposed Ives project, the alley use by the property of this proposed
development will go from zero, since the existing parking lot has no egress onto that alley, to
92.
Again, the solution is pretty straightforward. Require that the garage entrance to be on North
Willson, facing the rest of the North Central complex and not as directly impacting residential
zones. The developer could have one parking entrance total and split commercial and
residential spots inside the building, if that is desired.
I respectfully request that this application is denied in its current form and that alterations to
better protect the adjoining residential neighborhood are employed. Both the existing
neighbors and new Ives residents will reap the benefits.
Sincerely,
Karen Filipovich
426 N Grand Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59715