HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-14-23 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - PRAT plan concernsFrom:Marcia Kaveney
To:Agenda; Addi Jadin; Mitchell Overton
Cc:Angie Kociolek
Subject:PRAT plan concerns
Date:Tuesday, February 14, 2023 9:36:02 AM
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recognize the sender and know the content is safe.Dear Commissioners, Mayor, Ms. Jadin, and Mr. Overton- The following comments are in regards to the new PRAT plan that is to replace theformer PROST plan. Even though I have participated in the public surveys for the plan, itwasn’t until the last few months that I realized the intention was to completely replacethe PROST plan. I had erroneously thought it was an additional plan to the existingPROST. After reading the entire draft PRAT plan and attending the recent Urban Parksand Forestry Board meeting in Jan.2023, the purpose of the new plan has becomeevident and I have some significant concerns with it. My 3 priority concerns are sharedbelow. Additional concerns will be forthcoming.
1. The new name. Please change PRAT back to PROST. Instead of changing the name entirely, it can be updated by adding the year such as:PROST 2023. This lends transparency, consistency, and predictability to the process ofupdates. Focusing on the name might seem petty, but I think names are important and conveyboth information and intention. In common British slang, PRAT means “stupid or foolishperson”. It also doesn’t’ help that it sounds like BRAT. PROST, on the other hand, means“cheers!” in German, and evokes a positive image. I think omitting the letters OS for open space and T for trails is a big mistake. The lettersof an acronym are there to tell the reader what to expect. PRAT tells me the city ofBozeman is no longer prioritizing open space or trails. Yet trails are mentioned on nearlyevery page of the draft PRAT plan. In contrast, I was hard pressed to find any mention of“open space” anywhere in the document. I respectfully disagree with Ms. Jadin’s opinionin the Feb. 5, ’23 BDC article that basketball courts “nestled in a more natural setting”-(i.e. surrounded by un-mowed native grass) are an example of “what Montanans expectwhen they hear the words open space” as she implies. While I agree that recreationalareas should have limit watered turf, I agree more with the Urban Parks and ForestryBoard Chair, Ms. Kociolek that “the plan doesn’t have enough focus on conservation ofnatural or riparian areas” (BDC 2/5/23) such as what we normally think of in ‘openspace”. If the city commission truly wants transparency and public engagement, they will keep
the name of the parks plan consistent over the years. Just like me, other residents busywith jobs and families may have assumed it’s another new plan and not realize it’sactually a replacement that has simultaneously dropped the inclusion of open space andtrails from its title. It wasn’t that long ago that the residents passed a huge bond for openspace. This is very important to Bozeman residents and you will be letting us down if itis eliminated from the title of the plan.
2. Connect Strategy 3.8, page 94 (96). Utilizing Watercourses for Active
Transportation Routes.
This is a bad idea and should NOT be incorporated as a general standard. Instead,
all active transportation typologies should NEVER be located within watercourse
setbacks. Watercourse setbacks are there to provide protection for both wildlife andhumans. The city cannot be a good steward to sensitive lands and wildlife if it is alsoputting trails in watercourse or riparian setbacks.
Legends at Bridger Creek II contains a perfect example of why trails, roads, and
private lots do not belong in watercourse setbacks. According to Bozeman’s UDC, thewatercourse set back from Bridger Creek is 75 feet. However, this was not adhered towhen the subdivision was approved and Boylan Road, part of lots of a few homes, and apublic trail are all located within that setback. This has led to many time consuming andexpensive problems that both the city and Legends II HOA are still dealing with. In 2018, Legends II experienced vandalism of ditch digging to redirect flooding off thepublic trail. That vandalism cost Legends II HOA Board members hundreds of volunteerhours and the Legends II HOA spent $10,000 to try to “fix” the problem. Beavers thennaturally moved into the area, a location they have long populated. This natural processincreased sedimentation in the creek and it started forming new channels- something ithas long done in Bridger Canyon. This stream braiding and subsequent floodingencroached towards Boylan Rd. to the point that the city staff felt they needed to act onprotecting the infrastructure resulting in a $100,000 dollar (tax dollars) capitalimprovement project to armor Bridger Creek and protect Boylan Rd. Simultaneously the homeowners of Legends II voted to maintain the trail in their openspace located within the watercourse setback and after two years of trying to live withthe beavers, found they had no choice but to use lethal removal (drowning/underwatertrapping) of 12 beavers between December ’22 and January ’23. This process will likelyhave to be repeated by the HOA every 3 years to maintain the public trail on the HOAsprivate open/natural space. All of this trouble, expense, and death could have beenavoided if the subdivision lots, trail, and road did not encroach the watercourse setback. For more details on the city capital improvement project contact Brian Heaston or NickRoss.
3. Misleading Identity on Page 5.
Quote: “Bozeman’s location near these ecological sanctuaries cements it’s identity
as a city co-existing with nature.” This statement is misleading and untrue. Bozeman’s mere location near importantecosystems doesn’t cement anything except the location. The statement is misleadingbecause “co-existing” implies a harmony with nature that simply does not exist yet inBozeman. Instead the city of Bozeman has actively allowed the removal andencroachment of habitat as well as wildlife. Some recent examples follow. Examples: a. Over a dozen black bears were killed on the south side of Bozeman in 2022 due tohuman caused attractants. The new trash can pilot system will go a long way toimproving this situation but it is still in it’s pilot stages.b. HRDC removed a long row of medium sized trees that provided bird habitat and deercorridors to build their new headquarters on Griffin.c. The new Bridger View subdivision removed numerous mature fruit trees and shrubsthroughout the subdivision and about a dozen mature spruce trees on it’s east side.These trees provided valuable habitat. In particular the spruce trees provided nestingsites and perches for owls and large bird species.d. Densely zoned annexations have been approved for the Bridger Canyon corridor- anarea long known for it’s frequent sightings of moose, deer, black bear, eagles, owls, andhawks.
Suggested sentence change to: “Bozeman’s location near these ecological
sanctuaries cements it’s responsibility to become an exemplary steward of the
surrounding sensitive lands and to take special care to not encroach upon them. Thank you for reading these comments. I hope you will take them into seriousconsideration. Sincerely, Marcia Kaveney