HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-30-22 Public Comment - G. Beardslee - Fraternity concernsFrom:Greg Beardslee
To:Agenda
Subject:Fraternity concerns
Date:Friday, December 30, 2022 5:01:43 PM
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Commissioners,
Having learned that fraternities can now be allowed everywhere in the city, I am very
concerned about residential degradation affecting quality of life in my neighborhood. Zoning
compliance should have never been relaxed in such a fashion allowing the negative impacts
that a fraternity brings to be placed into a family setting.
My family endured 15 years of disruptions from a nearby party house (not a fraternity). The
disruptions affected our outlook, ability to sleep, work performance, health, and income.
Thank heavens ownership of that house eventually changed. I cannot recall all of the many
times I called the police to quell parties, and the many times I had to knock on the door of that
house at any hour of the night, telling drunken youth to go the hell home. We've lived in the
same house for 38 years, witnessing bad neighbors and good ones, and understand how the
bad ones can poison swathes of homes for years on end. Most of us live in Bozeman to enjoy a
relatively good quality of life. We count on zoning compliance to ensure our homes and
neighborhoods remain pleasant places to live. Recent concerns about possible changes to the
Montana State Constitution and our right to a healthy and safe environment have come to
mind. It seems the City Commission decided to disregard this basic right!
The decision to relax zoning compliance for fraternities was a bad one, negatively affecting
quality of life, that must be corrected. I agree with a recent letter to the editor from Geoffrey
Poole who pointed out sections of the UDC that were violated by approval of a fraternity.
There is no way to sugarcoat it, this is a bad move by the City. I strongly suggest that the UDC
be updated to provide more protection in established residential areas, and that the UDC be
strictly interpreted and enforced throughout the city.
Greg Beardslee
221 N. Church Ave.
Bozeman
gregb406@msn.com