HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-07-22 Public Comment - G. Chamberlain - CanyonGateFrom:Glen Chamberlain
To:Agenda
Subject:[SUSPECTED SPAM] CanyonGate
Date:Friday, January 7, 2022 9:20:27 AM
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To the City Commission:
I write in opposition not to the development of 26 acres at the corner of Bridger Drive and
Story Mill Road, but to the development proposed by HomeBase Partners. I live at 1821
Bridger Drive, and when we moved into our home, there was farm field behind us. It is now
filled with homes in The Legends. While I would love it to still be farm field, I accept that
Bozeman is growing, and I have made many friends who live in the houses. We have met
walking on the development’s streets and on the trail along Bridger Creek.
The zoning HomeBase Partners proposes will not allow such a sense of community to take
place. A development with five-story buildings and which ignores green space does not
engender community. And given Andy Halloran’s record, those who stay in the buildings are
not interested in forming community. They’ll either be tourists staying in a hotel or
homeowners here for a month in their second or third home.
In reading about the development and listening to the City Commission meeting in December,
I have concluded that there are many details Andy Halloran and the City Commission are not
clear on. Here are just a few of the salient ones:
1. What will these tall buildings be? Hotels? Apartments? Condos?
2. How many affordable units is Mr. Halloran ‘volunteering’?
3. What will these affordable units be? Homes? Apartments?
4. With this kind of density, where will residents recreate outdoors?
5. Will the city handle the infrastructure necessary for such an increase in traffic? If
not, who will?
6. Who will pay for creating a more crossable railroad crossing?
7. What happens when an ambulance is stuck waiting for a 15-minute grain or coal
train to pass? Or if the train is stationary (as often happens), clogging traffic for 20-25
minutes?
At the meeting in December, I found Commission responses to these concerns disingenuous.
For example, the Commission responded that it contracts with an ambulance service so any
person in physical distress can get a ride. The issue, however, is not getting a ride; it’s getting
to the hospital—hard to do when a train’s blocking the way.
I have lived in Bozeman since 1978, and the City Commission, no matter who is serving on it,
has a record of kowtowing to developers, with unfortunate results. Let me list two: 1) the
Blixeth development on Bridger Drive, for which the Commission ran off residents who lived in
a long established and nicely maintained trailer court. 2) the old Lehrkind Brewery on
Wallace, which the Commission handed over to a Baltimore developer who promised to save
the one wall that fronted Wallace. When the developer went belly up, the wall remained until
it became too much of a safety risk.
One could argue that there’s no problem with these. After all, look at the wonderful
community park and the Bridger View development that does offer affordable housing (by the
way, everyone knew how much affordable housing from the get-go). And the empty space on
Wallace will soon be an example of in-fill. Indeed, with time has come correction.
But there’s no reparation that will happen if the City Commission approves Canyon Gate. This
is empty land that will be forever changed by your decision. It’s not re-developing something
that was already developed, as was the trailer park on Bridger Drive. It’s not in-fill in the same
way the plot on Wallace is. This is fresh ground, fresh space, and your decision will
tremendously impact the area. I hope you will allow development to take place, but not this
development.
Glen Chamberlain
1821 Bridger Drive
Bozeman, MT 59715
(406) 539-0418