HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-23-23 Public Comment - C. Wilson - Zone Amendment - Fraternities and SororitiesFrom:Cindy Wilson
To:Agenda
Subject:Zone Amendment - Fraternities and Sororities
Date:Monday, January 23, 2023 9:02:37 AM
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Public Hearings January 23 and February: Zone Amendment – Fraternities and Sororities
Email: agenda@bozeman.net
Dear Community Development Advisory Board & City Commission,
I am writing to you as a concerned resident as well as alumni of Montana State University and Chi
Omega Sorority. I recently learned that a handful of new residents to the university area are
petitioning to rezone and force returning or new fraternities or sororities to look elsewhere for
housing options. For over one hundred years, fraternities and sororities have been located
throughout the university neighborhood helping to weave the fiber of this diverse, eclectic
patchwork of a neighborhood. It is disheartening to learn that individuals who chose to move to this
neighborhood now want to ban what has been the traditional location for fraternity and sorority
chapter houses and restrict their location within the city limits to very select zoned areas. It is also
troubling that these same individuals are proposing to disallow one type of student organization to
be located near campus while other forms of group housing, like group ministries and apartment
buildings, are not being targeted.
To only permit chapter houses in R-O (Residential-Office District), and R-5 (Residential Mixed-Use
High-Density District) typically used as commercial and retail space creating a live-work environment,
and Conditional use in R-3 (Residential Medium Density District) permitting one-to-five household
residential structures near service facilities, is truly confusing and would force more students to
commute to campus because of its limited or nonexistent availability near the University. While the
university neighborhood district may currently be zoned as R-2, it has multiple duplexes and small
apartment buildings throughout which have been providing housing with similar occupancy numbers
to those of many chapter houses. To exclude fraternities and sororities from the “Group Living”
classification appears targeted and goes against the inclusive make-up this neighborhood has
celebrated for over one hundred years.
The Greek system has historically played an important role to the university and the
community through leadership development, offering volunteer opportunities, and fundraising for
both national and local non-profits. Limiting the ability of fraternities and sororities to
organize chapter houses will reduce the availability of affordable student housing, limit
students’ opportunities for personal growth and development through national organizations, and
will change the historic character of the university neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Cindy Wilson
4332 Morning Sun Dr.