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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-02-23 Public Comment - C. McQueary - Project Name_ GRAN CIELO II ANNX ; Public comment from Chris McQuearyFrom:Christopher Mcqueary To:Agenda Subject:Project Name: GRAN CIELO II ANNX ; Public comment from Chris McQueary Date:Tuesday, May 2, 2023 1:02:00 PM Attachments:Final May 2.docx 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. Please review my public comment attached for the application for R4 zoning for project Gran Cielo ll Thank You Sincerely Chris Sent from Outlook Project Name: GRAN CIELO II ANNX Planning File Number: 22-090 Status: PUBLIC NOTICE ACTIVE Application Type: ANNEXATION Planner: TOM ROGERS Application Date: 03/08/2022 Bozeman City Commissioners I reside at 3306 S 29TH Ave. I am a property owner adjoining the proposed development which is seeking high des�ny R4 zoning. I do not support the advancement of this project. I address the city commission as the group which was elected to represent and uphold the best interests of the current ci�zens of Bozeman. I hope that you have not already decided on your vote before hearing from your concerned ci�zens this evening and that you will spend the �me required to represent our interests and concerns. I also address those in their own right who seek to carry out their professional activities as developers with the intent to remain profitable. I ask that they take the opportunity to set themselves apart from others in this profession. To the commission, in this time of rapid development and approvals, it is time to pump the brakes, in fact, it should be part of the process and it can help us to avoid negative impacts on our lives. Please be careful and mindful about what and who you enable and most importantly how it affects current citizens while upholding the goals of this community which you have promised to do. Notwithstanding all the other challenges to this proposed development such as the impact on street congestion, water quality, lack of nearby services and public transportation etc…...the mature, native stands of trees which are urban forests mean the most to us. Over the last few months, I have listened to our citizens, the city planning board, commissioners, and developers and have submitted written comments about what means the most to us and how we can protect its potential demise. The stand of trees being threatened by this proposed development is 70’ from our house. These trees fill the window we recently installed in our home. This urban forest provides our neighbors (including those residing in Gran Cielo) with a great experience season to season on their daily walks. They provide our family with a daily quality of life that we can’t imagine living without. They have and continue to provide nesting habitat for dozens of species of birds for generation after generation over the past 100 years. Like their ancestors did over the last ten decades, the offspring have returned north and are building nests right now in the same stand of trees. I encourage any of you to take a walk down Kurk St past our home to hear the songs coming from this stand. Our property will be less valuable if this stand of trees is destroyed. The scarcity of mature trees alone makes them very valuable in this valley. Some people who reside in areas such as the coast or the eastern US and are surrounded by high tree densities may not recognize or appreciate this. Mature, native trees on the proposed 81 acres consist of just two contiguous stands. One runs parallel with Kurk St covering just 2% of the 81 acres proposed for development and another covers approximately 4%. In all, mature native trees cover just 6% of the 81 acres. In one section or 640 acres of our immediate area only 1.6% is covered with mature, native trees. This is a scarcity that must be prioritized through city goals as well as through modifications to development before the commissions allow them to advance. 51% of all the native, mature trees within the 640 acres exist on the 81 acres proposed for this development. This makes this 81 acres a very appealing piece of property…..that is if you appreciate native, mature trees and they are left to stand. Mature trees are an important, irreplaceable asset to current and future citizens and to any developer. Landowners fortunate enough to have this scarce asset on their property need to preserve them. In response to my request to conserve one of these stands of trees, I was told by the applicant that the irrigation ditch owned by the Middle Creek Ditch Company (which bisects the property) could be altered or removed by them. In doing so I was also told that the stand of trees would die without the water delivered by the ditch and thus there is no reason to preserve them. The notion that the trees could be removed because they will die anyway is simply ludicrous. These statements are backed by nothing other than arrogance and/or ignorance and are revealing. It should be a clear indication to the commission of this group’s plan and rationale. The water rights of said ditch pre-date statehood. If the applicant can receive permission to change or eliminate the ditch it will then cost $200/ LN Ft per the bylaws of the Middle Creek Ditch Co. to do so. The ditch covers approximately 1400’ on the proposed property. The math and cost on that is over a quarter of a million dollars to eliminate it. The trees of this stand, like everything else, will die someday, but not in our lifetime and not because of the elimination of the surface water flowing through the ditch. Know that surface water in the ditch runs only seasonally and intermittently for less than 70 days per year. Much of the stand consists of aspens that thrive year around on groundwater. All the new growth in this stand indicates that the trees are thriving on groundwater and not surface water. Furthermore, when it flows, the ditch provides a water feature through the trees which is very aesthetic and has a resemblance to that of a mountain stream. It’s a playground of adventure for neighborhood kids. In fact, when it’s flowing, they kayak down the ditch, build bridges, and forts and enjoy all the great things most of us grew up doing around water. Why not include such features for future residents? Some of the goals for the Bozeman community plan state the following. • Work to ensure that development is responsive to natural features. Natural features include mature trees, not parks. Parks are man-made. More on this in a minute or two • Address climate change in the City’s plans and operations. Nothing outperforms mature trees in addressing climate change. This is perhaps why the city’s own climate plan item 6.P.2 states an action to maintain and expand the urban forests • Promote uses of the natural environment that maintain and improve habitat, water quantity, and water quality. This is also all about preserving all we have as mature trees I feel I need to address parks for what they are instead of what they are being proposed for. Some developers have indicated to me and to other city residents that creating parks acts as some kind of trade-off or reciprocity to us for the mature and native stands of trees they may destroy. Parks within our community are important to many, we do need them and appreciate them but when created by humans using hundreds of pallets of sod which then require thousands of gallons of our water. They are far from a natural feature and miss the mark of the city’s own community development goals. Only when parks are designed around mature trees and planted with native, drought-tolerant plants can they then be considered a natural feature. Fortunately, some have made the effort to do this, the parks developed in this way need to be a template. I was told by Chris of Madison Engineering that “Americans have the right to choose where they live and we provide the housing for them” I wish that were true but the demographics don’t support this attempt to come off as a philanthropist to all Americans needing housing. This is because the homes in the current unfinished project of Gran Cielo have a median price of $966,000 and tops out currently at 1.6 million. What is true is that Montanans constitutionally have a right to a clean and healthful environment and the right to pursue basic necessities, enjoy their lives and liberties, acquire, possess, and protect their properties value, and seek their safety, health, and happiness in all lawful ways. This is exactly how I plan on living. It’s become very clear to me that this project as proposed with no clear modifications to protect current citizens or meet the city’s own goals should not be advanced at this time. If advanced as planned by this group it will reduce our own property’s value, interrupt our lives for years, and most importantly it would greatly diminish our quality of life. In closing If the city commissioners belie their own responsibilities for the citizens by advancing this development, please find a way to prioritize the preservation of any of the mature stands of trees through modification or contingencies onto this project. They are invaluable to all of us. Your effort to do so will set you apart and you will be remembered for it. Please do the right thing while you’re here, because in the end, ……. all that really matters is how you are remembered. You have intentions that could harm us and we have hope. Making the time to defend one’s own quality of life and rights is never enjoyable or something anyone should have to do very often. In fact, I despise having to do this. Given the time required, this wasn’t easy to compose or vocalize, but remaining apathetic to this all too familiar David and Goliath scenario would be a failure to recognize the future well-being of my family and my neighbors (including those residing in Gan Cielo l ). Thank You Chris McQueary