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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-23 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - UDC work Session Comments- for CD Advisory Board and City CommissionersFrom:Marcia Kaveney To:Agenda Subject:UDC work Session Comments- for CD Advisory Board and City Commissioners Date:Sunday, February 26, 2023 11:47:10 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Board Members and City Commissioners- Thank you for all the hard work you've been doing and for the opportunity to give input into the UDC update project. I have lived within Bozeman city limits since 1989 and, as you can imagine, have seen a lot ofchanges. As we become bigger and denser, I think one of the best things we can do to maintain livability in Bozeman for new and old residents is to make the zone edge andbuilding edge transitions more incremental and of a human scale, even if it doesn't maximize the zone potential to 100% of its capacity. I suggest the following for your consideration. These comments generally follow along withthe Code Connect presentation at the City Commission meeting on 2/14/23. 1. Incorporate step backs between buildings of different sizes even if the smaller building is in a zone that allows taller buildings. Example of poor transition between buildings: between Black Olive Apartment Apts. and thesmall house just east of it on E. Olive St. The building and the backyard are separated by an alley but there is no felt sense of space or separation. A step back from the third floor andthen again to the fourth floor and then again to the 5th would've been less oppressive and allowed for air and movement and would have gone a long way towards preserving thehistoric nature of the neighborhood as well as lessening the impact on the adjacent property. I think this should be done even if the smaller adjacent building is in a zone where it could betaller but isn't. 2. Angled step backs vs. vertical. I am more in favor of the step backs that allow for the maixmum amount of light and wouldlike these setbacks on additional sides of the building to add balance, light, and visual interest. (Armory Hotel) unless there was an appropriate change of land use on one side (The Elm). 3. In general, I think maximizing the setbacks in transition zones would preserveneighborhood character and lessen negative impacts on existing homes and businesses. This would also strengthen the relationship between current residents and the city commissionregarding the inevitable growth. Good examples of step backs with tall buildings: Example of good transition: The Armory Hotel with its step back at the top of the second story and the wall along the next door parking lot. The light color of the central tower allowsit to blend in more with the sky than the darker portions which almost look like separate buildings. It does not overwhelm the people on the street nor the smaller adjacent buildings. It also allows sunlight to come through to surrounding buildings. Another good transition: The Elm on N. 7th. From the street view whether driving or walking,the overall impression is that the building is only 2 stories tall in the front although it's actually about 3. And from at least two angles, the greater height of the building is hardly noticeable.In the back, there is a great distance between it and the small school building, and the playground creates a spatial buffer as well as a land use buffer. 4. Expense for Builders: While Commissioner Pomeroy expressed some concerns aboutexpense of buildings and loss of buildable space (2/24/23 city commission meeting), this discussion is only considering the transition zones and not entire zones. Therefore the expensefor builders should not carry more value than the 2020 Community Plan's goal of balancing the needs of the residents with the desires of the developers. One of those needs is livability and with that comes light, air, and human scale. And it can andhas been done (The Elm and The Armory). And as City Manager Mihelich pointed out in the 2/24/23 meeting,there is more to consider than cost of building and loss of square footage. The city is obligated by its 2020 BCP to consider impacts on neighboring buildings, and preservation of neighborhood character. 5. Landscape Buffers: Can be incorporated as pocket parks, connectivity, pollinator gardens,or conifer buffer- good for urban owl habitat. But should not completely take the place of step backs. The landscaping needs to be meaningful and well considered for water use, actualscreening effects, maintenance, etc. 6. Alley measurement for setbacks. I feel this should stay with the subject property or the middle of the alley but not be changed to the adjacent property line. Alley's are very narrowand barely add anything to the transitional buffer for height. (Black Olive example of alley space being ineffective.) 7. B-1 changes:a. Residential allowances. I am in favor of allowing more residential options into B-1. But I agree with the citycommissioners that the ground floor residential should be limited to 50% otherwise it seems that it should be zoned residential. b.height. I do not feel that 4 stories or 60 feet is necessary in B-1. It is currently 3 stories or 45feet since each floor in commercial zoning is a minimum of 15 feet. Instead I would suggest we consider a change to 4 stories or 50 feet - whichever is smaller. We want neighborhoodbusinesses to fit in to the neighborhood rather than stand out. (Examples: Joe's Parkway, the old Heebs, the Coop downtown.) c. area. CVS stores average 8,000-13,000 sq square feet and do not give off a small neighborhood store vibe to me. I agree we should increase the size of B-1 but would be much more comfortable with 10,000 which could more readily fit into any neighborhood. 8. B-2. a. FYI -We currently have empty commercial ground floor spaces on East Main. Do we have too much commercial already? b. My problem with the jump between B1 and B2M is that there is no size limit in B2M. Sodevelopers seem to prefer it over anything else because they can do anything in it. Whether it's a Walmart SuperCenter or a multilevel apartment building. Should the city consider a zonethat is between B1 and B2-M with a size limit of 100,000 square feet? 10. NEHMU NENA members have expressed interest in working with the city commission to modernizethis district and explicitly asked to do so recently. I agree with city commissioners that since NEHMU was created by NENA members, they should be involved in the updates andmodernization. Thank you, Marcia Kaveney