HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-04-22 Public Comment - K. Irby - Water Sustainability b-
Good evening Madam Mayor, members of the Commission.
A moment ago, Bradley talked about looking to future generations when considering making decisions
today. I think the commission deserves credit for looking into the next decade & realizing that the policies
that Bozeman has been enacting for the last generation are not sustainable.
At the same time, the disconnect between the stated goals of the commission &the actual results on the
ground are disconcerting.
Let me give you a couple examples. For decades, its been city policy to turn over many city functions to
local homeowners associations which have been invested with quasi-governmental authority to
essentially enact planning decisions within a subdivision-especially with regard to things like water use. I
havent had time to do an inventory, but there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of vacant lots located in
HOAs where it is in some form or another against HOA policy to install low water use landscaping.
These agreements have been formalized with the city as a condition of development...so that as these
lots get built out in the future, they will be required to be landscaped with surface irrigated turf.
At the same time, the current commission is enacting policies such as paying existing homeowners to
remove irrigated turf-an action that would be explicitly prohibited by dozens of Bozeman HOAs.
Let me give you another example. Recently, the city sent out a notice requesting demonstration low
water landscape &garden projects.
At the same time, instead of using municipal projects to set a gold standard &tone for local development,
the City installed a giant green lawn of surface irrigated sod in front of its own flagship project, the Public
Safety Center.
Finally, its worth considering the following: when developments are approved the city collects either a
water right or cash in lieu of water rights. its a little bit mind boggling that suddenly, somehow its
impossible to translate those water rights or cash into actual municipal water supply. The people of
bozeman deserve to understand why the supply hasn't matched up with the growth &what steps the
Commission is taking to ensure that the problem isnt compounded as Bozeman continues to grow.
The city ALSO collects a substantial impact fee for water treatment and distribution. Five or6 go I
urged this commission to consider using the impact fee as a means of encouraging low water
intensity
development in new construction, to no avail.
Sec. 38.420.080. -lurk development. A.
General Developers must consult.any adopted citywide park plan, and with the parks department
which im lements the plan,to determine the types of parks needed for the proposed development
p
and surrounding area. Parksmust be developed in accordance with the citywide park plan and any
roved ark master plan.At a minimum, all parks must be improved to the following standards
app p by the developer, prior to final plat or final occupancy approval as appropriate:
lriate:
1.
land dedications.The subdivider must level any park area,
Minimum required improvements 0
amend the soil,seed disturbed areas to allow mowing with turf type mowers, and install an
underground irrigation system in compliance with city standards and specifications.
a.
with drought tolerant grass seed unless approved otherwise in writing by
Parks must be seeded
the park superintendent.
2.
gate the park area until 50 percent of the subdivision lots or
Irrigation.The developer must irri
condominium units are sold.Thereafter,the property owners' association must be responsible for
park irrigation.The property owners' association may establish an improvement district to collect
assessments to pay for irrigation.
Sec. 38.410.130.-Water adequacy.
A.
prior to final approval by the review authority of development
Subject to subsections B and C,
occurring under this chapter orchi ter 10,the applicant must offset the entire estimated increase
in annual municipal water demand attributable to the development pursuant to subsection D.
B.
compliance with this section is triggered if the estimated increase in annual municipal water
demand attributable to the development exceeds 0.25 acre-feet after accounting for the following
items as they relate to the development,
1.
Current average annual municipal metered water demand;
2.
Water demand offsets from a prior payment of cash-in-lieu of water rights;
3. ransfer of water rights into city ownership, and;
Water demand offsets from a prior t
4. imilarly purposed
Water demand offsets from an existing water adequacy agreement or s
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