HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-06-21 Public Comment - J. Delmue - The Ives 21165From:Taylor Chambers on behalf of Martin Matsen
To:Mike Maas
Subject:FW: Public Comment: The Ives - #21165
Date:Monday, December 6, 2021 3:50:30 PM
Did you receive this piece of public comment already?
Taylor Chambers
Community Development Technician III |
City of Bozeman | 20 East Olive St. | P.O. Box 1230 | Bozeman, MT 59771
P: 406.582.2939 | E: tchambers@bozeman.net | W: www.bozeman.net/planning
**I am currently in training on processing building applications. Thank you for your
understanding and patience!**
We’re making changes to the way building permit inspections are scheduled:
• Call-in Inspection Line Going Away: The inspection-line voicemail box attached to (406)-582-2374
will be DISCONTINUED as of December 1st, 2021
• Inspection Cutoff: We’re moving up the cutoff to request next business day inspections to 2:00 PM
as of December 1st, 2021. (The current cutoff is 4:00 PM)
• New Electronic Form: We’ve implemented a new, user-friendly electronic inspection request form to
be used for all inspection types within the Building Division.
Access the new inspection form at: www.bozeman.net/inspections
From: Jason Delmue <delmue@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 4, 2021 12:43 AM
To: Martin Matsen <MMatsen@BOZEMAN.NET>
Cc: Susana Montana <smontana@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: Public Comment: The Ives - #21165
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 Director Matsen and Community Development Staff:
I am submitting these comments in support of The Ives site plan application.
The multi-use building, with 99 residences (and bike parking in equal number), an on-
site gym, shared interior common/workspace areas, and a public bike/shower/locker
facility is the kind of dense, varied project that the Community Plan and B-3 zoning
call for.
I believe that the most commonly voiced statements in opposition to the project are
contrary to good planning principles and, specifically in the case of Bozeman, our
Community Plan.
The benchmark for compatibility cannot be adjacent single-household
residences built approximately 120 years ago. When zoning went in
approximately 60 years ago, those structures were there. The zoning was the
plan for the future and was purposefully different than that historical pattern.
Now, decades after zoning and with successive Community Plans that for manyreasons keep calling for urban density, the community cannot let these
structures keep reaching from the distant past into the present to foil the
considered plan for how best to deal with the arrival of new residents. The
community needs dense urban living, which requires some height.
Cash in lieu of parkland is completely appropriate for this site, which is two
blocks from Beall Park. The Ives site doesn't need parkland per se. It does
need an active and engaging streetscape, which it seems to have with the
multiple building entrances; the benches, bike racks, and street lights along both
Willson and Villard; and the seat wall at the northeast corner of the property.
The (low-speed) parking garage driveway on Villard is not a significant safety
concern to warrant denial of the requested relaxation regarding the spacing
between that driveway and the alley. The detailed vehicular movement
diagrams and analysis, as well as the conditions on the ground (namely, the
stop sign at Willson for east-west traffic) suggest that these vehicle movementswill be manageable.
The one drawback I see with the building is the exterior manifestation of the extra
parking being contained in the building. I'm speaking about the 80 spots slated forthe AC Hotel. The inclusion of that parking seems to result in the building being a
story taller. It also increases the height, on the west elevation, of a fairly stark wall
along the alley, which faces the neighbors to the west. (The east elevation has the
store frontage at the ground level, so this condition is not present.)
Were it not for that stark and somewhat tall west wall of the parking levels, the
transition between those neighbors in the R-4 zone and The Ives building is actually
quite good. The middle part of the building is recessed because of the roof deck. The north part of the building is terraced back pursuant to the Zone Edge Transition
code section. And this code-compliant transition is further enhanced by the "bonus"
spacing created by the 16-foot alley.
In conclusion, The Ives is the kind of project that fills the needs of the community. I
hope that you will look upon it favorably. If further collaborative refinements can be
achieved by the City and Homebase Partners, then all the better.
Thank you and the Staff for your consideration and your service to our community.
Best personal regards,
--Jason Delmue18 E. Peach St.
Bozeman, MT 59715