HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-15-21 Public Comment - A. Bayr - Canyon Gate Concerns - Dec 21st meetingFrom:Alison Bayr
To:Agenda
Subject:Canyon Gate Concerns - Dec 21st meeting
Date:Wednesday, December 15, 2021 5:34:39 PM
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Dear Bozeman City Commissioners:
I am writing as a Bridger Creek Phase 1 resident at 2420 Par Court. I have many concerns
about the proposed Canyon Gate Proposal. I attended the Zoning Commission Meeting on thisissue and listened carefully to both presentations as well as all public comment.
After that meeting, I reviewed the 2020 Community Plan and would like to address several
concerns based on what I read in the Community Plan.
1. Theme 4, Goal EPO-2-3 States, "Identify, prioritize and preserve key wildlife habitatand corridors."
This 24 acres is a dynamic wildlife corridor and rests at the mouth of our beloved BridgerCanyon. Deer, moose, bear, turkey, and more are seen frequenting this property and use this
corridor to and from Story Hills to Bridger Foothills. Development in this area needs tosimulate surrounding neighborhoods with open space to preserve this corridor and habitat.
Allowing for maximum density on this property would decimate the character of the districtand threaten Bridger Canyon, one of the attractors that brings people to our city.
This project was described as an "infill project." I disagree because it isn't even currently
annexed into the city. I look at properties such as the old K-mart location as infill. That is aperfect location for high density mixed use. This property at the mouth of Bridger Canyon and
acting as an important wildlife corridor needs to be conservatively zoned to protect theintegrity of the surrounding natural environment.
2. Zoning Criteria - Character of the District
This proposed development is separated from town by the railroad tracks, isolated, and in acanyon at the outer edge of City limits. The parcel of land is less than 1/2 mile from land
designated "No City Services" on the future land use map. Being isolated, it is unsuitable forthe B2M zoning requested which is intended to serve a "broader trade area." Additionally, R5
is "appropriate for areas adjacent to mixed-use districts and or served by transit." This isprimarily an R1 neighborhood and has no transit service.
3. Public Safety
In the last meeting, emergency response time was mentioned and staff response was thatadditional development will not change the response time. I strongly disagree with that
statement. If we allow high density on this proposed parcel, the volume of emergency callswill increase as well as the traffic which will back up further behind trains on the tracks. There
are currently12 acres of B2M and 3 acres of REMU in the new Story Mill development.Before any additional development, there is an existing public safety concern with the train
tracks and at times inaccessibility to our fire station and hospital. Adding additional highdensity development is going to exacerbate this problem.
4. Affordable housingHome Base Partners discusses the desire for a neighborhood with nearby jobs, restaurants,
shops, and services. Where are the service industry employees for this neighborhood’sconvenient shops and restaurants supposed to live? We are struggling in Bozeman to find
service industry employees to work in our retail shops and restaurants. We have the Cannerydistrict and other commercial stores and services along Bridger Drive. Workforce employees
for the proposed services will just create more traffic in the area as they commute fromoutlying communities. We don’t need a high density 2nd and 3rd vacation home area at the
mouth of our beloved Bridger Canyon. We can look at HomeBase Partners' otherdevelopments to determine that this project is NOT going to provide workforce housing. At
what point do we say Bozeman has seen enough growth? I support a conservation easement onthis property purchased through GVLT or annexing this property for park space and some R3
residential but anything more is overkill.
Please vote against Home Base Partners’s development plan for Canyon Gate. This is not theright place for high density development.
Thank you for your consideration,
Alison Bayr