HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-23 Public Comment - P. Lopez - Application 22090, 4_11_23 City Commission Public HearingFrom:Pearl Lopez
To:Agenda
Subject:Application 22090, 4/11/23 City Commission Public Hearing
Date:Friday, April 7, 2023 11:16:30 AM
Attachments:22090 application objections_DColeman-PLopez.pdf
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Attached please find our written protest for application 22090 Gran Cielo II Annexation andZone Map Amendment. The City Commision public hearing on application 22090 will take
place on Tuesday, April 11. Please confirm receipt of this email and access to the attachment.Thank you.
Pearl Lopezc 1 415 830 0647e lopez.pearlanne@gmail.com
City of Bozeman Community Development Board
Re: Application 22090, Gran Cielo II Annexation and Zone Map Amendment
Dear Board Members:
We are writing in opposition to the zoning for R-4 high-density housing submitted with application 22090
Gran Cielo II. We live at 3057 S. 31st Avenue, Bozeman. The development of Gran Cielo II doesn’t align
with the Bozeman 2020 Community Plan. This proposed development does not have any parks or
connecting trails, creates sprawl rather than promoting a walkable / bikeable community since it has
limited access to a main corridor, lacks access to public transportation and will not provide affordable
housing. Our opposition is based on several factors relating to quality of life/safety as well as
environmental and infrastructural concerns. We strongly urge the CD Board to not approve the annexation
and ZMA application for Gran Cielo II.
Traffic / Accessible Bike Lanes:
Foremost, the addition of high-density housing will make Graf Street congested and unsafe. Currently,
Graf Street is a 2-lane road with a bicycle lane on each side. Gran Cielo residents on the north side of
Graf St regularly need to street park due to inadequate on-premise garage and driveway parking. These
are not contractor vehicles, but resident vehicles as anywhere between 10-15 vehicles are parked on Graf
at any time (see images included1). This requires those on bicycle to ride in the street amidst traffic
between 27th and 31st Avenues on Graf since the bike lanes are not accessible.
The addition of high-density housing on the south side of Graf (the property designated for Gran Cielo II)
will worsen the problem. We’ve had several encounters with motorists who have “doored” us because they
are required to street park as well as motorists who don’t seem willing to share the road. Similarly, traffic
on Stucky Road and Fowler Lane has gotten much worse for cyclists and will become completely unsafe
with the addition of high-density housing. Further, with cars parking in bike lanes, Gran Cielo residents are
often forced to drive down the middle of the road - crossing the car lane markers into the opposite lane.
With the potential of additional new residents, two-way traffic on this road will be unsafe given the current
conditions. Simply put, the builder (Bozeman Haus aka CP Haus) has already proven that this type of
housing has made sections of roads unsafe due to designing inadequate parking. This area of Graf Street
already contradicts the city’s goal to improve transportation safety as part of their SAFE plan. The addition
of similar type of housing with inadequate parking will worsen the problem for residents.
Coordination of Infrastructure:
Fowler Lane is a county road with plans to be paved to Stucky Road. Along Fowler are lateral ditches that
are part of the Middle Creek Ditch. The water rights issued to the Middle Creek Ditch company have legal
primacy over any road expansion or development. There is no current plan to widen this road. Further, the
Middle Creek Ditch company has not approved any previous plans proposed for alignment of the ditch.
Since Gran Cielo II is bound by Fowler Lane to the west, this Board should question whether Fowler Lane
can handle the additional traffic that a high-density development will bring and whether any road
improvements can be done that aligns with the water rights of the Middle Creek Ditch. Approval of Fowler
Lane plans is required by the Middle Creek Ditch company.
Permanent Water Restrictions:
We are concerned that the addition of high density R-4 housing will create greater water demand at the
expense of existing residents. The proposed development will be a further drain on water resources. As of
June 16, 2022, permanent watering restrictions were issued. Bozeman City Commission has stated that
“Bozeman is booming, growing at a rate far above the national average. More people will need more
water, and eventually, these supplies won’t be enough. Without water conservation, Bozeman could be
facing a water shortage within the next 10 years.” (2) However, the city and this Board continue to annex
and approve large developments, requiring residents to conserve water to justify over-development of
housing and without concern as to water supply. Does this developer have any water rights to offer the city
to offset a high-density development?
Wildlife and Landscape:
Separately, the development plans will be very disruptive to wildlife. The proposed areas of development
house white-tailed deer, Hungarian partridges, Sandhill cranes, Great Blue heron, a mated pair of hawks,
owls, red foxes among many other types of wildlife. There also exists a grove of mature cottonwoods in
the middle of the parcel. The builder can make as many guarantees as it wants to not disrupt the natural
habitat; however, these guarantees are worthless as the proposed development will disrupt these
habitats, and they will be lost permanently.
R-3 vs R-4 designation:
Gran Cielo II is applying for R-4 designation, as the R-3 designation was striked-out on their application.
Gran Cielo I is R-3 designation. During the Community Development Board meeting held October 17,
2022 (3) to review Application 21424 for Buffalo Run Site Plan, the CD Board at that time specifically said
if they could “go back in time” regarding the regret at approving the R-4 designation of Buffalo Run, for
many of these same objection points we’ve noted previously, and upon reviewing the design of Buffalo
Run. To create dense housing in an area that can't support it, without a considered growth policy, isn't the
legacy that this Board wants to leave behind and will only continue a pattern of regrets.
Housing Affordability:
The justification for new and higher density development is often based on alleviating a housing shortage.
To the extent that there is a housing shortage, it is on a regional and even national basis. The addition of
housing will likely draw more out-of-state residents into Bozeman rather than solve the needs of existing
residents. Alleviating housing shortage, while seemingly virtuous, is often self-serving by the developer
and can easily exacerbate problems as well as demand on local resources. The applicant has indicated
“No” on their application regarding Affordable Housing. Furthermore, the developer has consistently listed
and sold their homes well above the median sale price of a home in Bozeman. A big initiative in both the
Bozeman 2020 Community Plan and the updated Community Housing Action Plan (CHAP) specifically
focuses on a variety of housing in type, size and cost “at prices that residents can afford.”(4) The hope
is that the developer plans to consider the residents of Bozeman and their income in their development
plans, rather than creating more housing beyond affordability for the Bozeman resident. However, the
Board should require that affordable housing is provided in the development plans.
Failure to follow General Procedures for Processing Annexations
Finally, I would like to mention that the official Notice received for this Annexation and ZMA Application
included a link to data on this application. However, the link went to “Page Not Found” without any further
information on where to find the application details for this project. Providing the public with the necessary
information to review the application is part of the general procedures necessary for processing
annexations. Given that the public wasn’t given access to the necessary application materials through the
information provided, I request that the Planning Staff re-issue the public hearing notice, with the correct
information, and the public hearing be re-scheduled to a later date.
Sincerely,
Dave Coleman and Pearl Lopez
3057 S. 31st Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718
1 Graf Street, between 27th & 31st Ave
Bike Lane
Reduced lane clearance
Reduce lane
clearance
Cars parked in bike
lane from 31st down
to 27th Aves
2 Bozeman Water Conservation https://www.bozeman.net/departments/utilities/water-conservation
3 October 17, 2022 CD Board Meeting Agenda and Webex: https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/DocView.aspx?
id=269027&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN; https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1640750/
CD_Board_Meeting_Minutes_10-17-22.pdf
4 Bozeman 2020 Community Plan https://www.bozeman.net/home/showpublisheddocument/1074/637552816180100000
Bozeman Community Plan 2020 Executive Summary https://www.bozeman.net/home/showpublisheddocument/
11764/638133608032100000