HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-23 Public Comment - L. Baker - Belated comment on Preliminary Plat for Urban Farm Phase 1From:Lisa Baker
To:Agenda
Subject:Belated comment on Preliminary Plat for Urban Farm Phase 1
Date:Wednesday, March 1, 2023 2:24:11 PM
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To the Commission,
I attended the February 28 City Commission meeting online. I am sorry in retrospect I did not
gather my thoughts to offer two comments on the Urban Farm Phase 1 preliminary plat. Irealize it is too late for my comments to be considered, but I hope they may inform your
review of future developments. Please feel free to forward this message to any staff asappropriate.
For context, I am president of the Valley West Homeowners Association, which includes the
Lakes at Valley West. I personally live in a single-family home on a woonerf (like an alley).There is an open space behind my house similar to the "paseo" planned for Urban Farm Phase
1--a grass yard with a concrete sidewalk running through it.
My comments:(1) I am afraid the alley in Urban Farm Phase 1 ("Planter Place") will be a disaster in practice.
If I understand correctly, 46 residences are planned in Phase 1, all of which will load from thealley, and no parking spaces are planned on the alley. In the Lakes at Valley West, the similar
"woonerfs" have 4 parking spaces per block, serving 12 residences per block. Homes typicallyhave 2-car garages and driveways that can accommodate 2 additional cars. As HOA president,
I can tell you parking is an enormous problem in the woonerfs. The limited parking spaces aretypically claimed by residents, leaving no parking for visitors. Despite our HOA's efforts, cars
end up parking illegally on the narrow sidewalks (which are level to the road), impairingpedestrian and traffic flow. Delivery trucks routinely block traffic on the woonerfs, which are
narrow. I can't imagine how Planter Place will function, with many more residences than ourwoonerfs and no off-lot parking spaces. For the sake of the future residents of Urban Farm, I
hope the city will require sufficient on-lot parking in Planter Place.
(2) On a more positive note, I believe the "paseo" is a good feature. I listened carefully toCommissioner Coburn's objections to the paseo. However, my experience with the open space
behind my house in the Lakes is that the sidewalk is in constant use by children on bikes andscooters, parents pushing strollers, and people walking their dogs. It is a great benefit to have a
walking path/sidewalk adjacent to grass and away from the street/alley. In Urban Farm Phase1, I predict the paseo will be heavily used by residents from throughout Phase 1 and also
neighboring Norton Ranch, to help create a nice walking loop that stays away from PlanterPlace, which (as I argue) will be crammed with vehicles. And of course the paseo adds a bit of
green space to an otherwise densely developed community.
Finally, I tuned into the Feb 28 meeting mostly to hear the discussion of the West Park, whichadjoins the Lakes at Valley West. While there is concern among our HOA members about the
apartment buildings planned for West Park Phase 1, I was pleased to learn of the plans toextend the wetlands park south toward Babcock Street. I agree with Commission Coburn's
comment that the public should be afforded access to this underappreciated gem of a park in
West Bozeman. Parking on Vaughn and Babcock may suffice for this purpose, but additionalparking spaces off Babcock would be even more beneficial.
I was impressed by the Commissioners' thoughtful questions and perspectives at last night's
meeting. Thank you for your good work!
Lisa--
Lisa Baker (she/her/hers) 914-645-5353
420 Herstal WayBozeman, MT 59718