HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-15-21 Public Comment - O. Bach - Comments Regarding Proposed Development at the Mouth of Bridger CanyonFrom:orville bach
To:Agenda
Subject:Comments Regarding Proposed Development at the Mouth of Bridger Canyon
Date:Wednesday, December 15, 2021 4:47:22 PM
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Dear Members of the City Commission:
My name is Orville Bach and my wife’s name is Margaret Bach and weappreciate the opportunity to share some of our concerns as to why weare strongly opposed to 4 to 5 story buildings and dense development at
the mouth of Bridger Canyon. I would like to begin with what my wife and
I experienced this morning, December 15, on our way from the Bozeman
Senior Center to Par Court to deliver one of our “meals on wheels” that wevolunteer to do each week. Par Court is only about one block from the
proposed development. As we neared the railroad track crossing a train
approached at a very slow rate of speed. The traffic backed up horribly in
both directions. Finally after waiting for 15 minutes with the train almoststopped on the tracks, we decided to turn around (as did several others)
and deliver our other meals, and come back to Par Court about an hour
later, lest we not get the meals delivered on time for lunch.
Now, delivering meals for shut-ins is one thing. But as we waited in thelong line of traffic this morning we got to thinking. What if one of the
residents over on the other side of those train tracks was having a medical
emergency right now? Or for that matter, I personally just completed 44
radiation treatments for prostate cancer at the Bozeman Health CancerCenter. I had to be there PROMPTLY at 10 a.m. for 44 consecutive
treatments. If I lived on the other side of those tracks, I am certain I
would have missed my appointments on several occasions. The very idea
that anyone is considering adding hundreds of dense residential andcommercial development at this location is sheer idiocy. And we all know
that the frequency and length of trains will only increase in coming years.
The second point we would like to make is, why is it so difficult for
Bozeman to plan its growth smartly? Why on earth would the Commissionjam something down the throats of hundreds of residents in this area who
are adamantly opposed to this scale of development? It is SO OUT OF
LINE with what is already in place regarding existing residential units.
There is already an abundance and variety of new commercialdevelopments nearby, notably the new Cannery district. We listened to
the comments expressed in the last meeting before the Zoning
Commission. Frankly, we were surprised that 12 people spoke in favor of
this proposed development, because we have friends and family who livein the area and ALL OF THEM are STRONGLY OPPOSED. But then we readthat 11 of the 12 speakers who expressed support are employees of are
affiliated with Home base! Is this true? Really? If so, this is outrageousthat they did not reveal their affiliations during the comments!
I wonder if any members of the Commission happened to watch 60
Minutes this past Sunday? There was a wonderful segment that featured a
special community in Newfoundland, Canada and how careful they are togrow in a way that retains their quality of life. Isn’t it a shame that we
cannot do the same thing here in Bozeman? Why do we think we need to
allow a developer to make HUGE profits at the expense of the entire
community and ESPECIALLY the folks who chose to buy residences in thisarea in which to live? While we don’t live in this area, we are frequently in
the vicinity—delivering meals on wheels, playing golf at Bridger Creek golf
course, x-c skiing at Bridger Creek, riding our bikes on the wonderful trails
that traverse this region, heading out Bridger Canyon to hike the M,Drinking Horse, or heading up to Bridger Bowl. The city recently had some
wonderful additions in the area---Story Mill Park, the paved bike trails
reaching out to the M and Drinking Horse, and now some money hungry
developer thinks he can come along and ruin this area just to make somebig bucks? Isn’t this where the citizens desire some leadership on the part
of our Commission?
No one should try to insult our intelligence by saying this dense housing
will somehow cure our housing problem. It won’t. These are EXPENSIVEunits, not any solution to affordable housing like the many “paid
commentors” spoke so highly of at the Zoning Commission hearing.
The folks who live in this area are not against annexation, as long as the
annexed acreage is developed appropriately with a much smaller numberof residential units that includes open space to retain the quality of this
area. But what they are EXTREMELY concerned about is that the property
will be annexed and then the inappropriate, high density development will
take place after the annexation. Speaking of that, we spend a significantamount of time in this area and we know that it is a very important
corridor for many species of wildlife. We sincerely hope that the City
Commission strongly considers this.
We would like to conclude our comments by simply asking a simplequestion: just who is in favor of this densely developed proposal?
Honestly, we would wager that this proposed development is EXTREMELY
UNPOPULAR with the vast majority of the citizens of Bozeman. We
sincerely hope that you will represent your citizens who elected you tooffice, rather than give favorable treatment to a developer who will stand
to make a fortune at the expense of the community. And we would also
wager that this developer will choose not to live across the street from the
dense development that he is proposing.
Thank you for seriously considering our comments.
Orville and Margaret Bach
197 Lamplight Drive
Bozeman, MT
orvillebach@yahoo.com
406-579-7908