HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-26-23 Public Comment - B. Brandt - Special Use for Gas Station at Baxter and Davis LaneFrom:Brian Brandt
To:Nakeisha Lyon
Subject:Special Use for Gas Station at Baxter and Davis Lane
Date:Friday, May 26, 2023 2:31:27 PM
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Hi,I hope you are looking forward to a good Memorial Day weekend.
I wanted you to know that almost everyone I have talked with in the last month in our neighborhoodstrenuously objects to the city granting a special use permit for a gas station at Baxter and DavisLane. I am sure you are hearing from them.
We live on Lemhi Trail Drive near the intersection of Baxter and Davis Lane. We can hardlyimagine a more inappropriate placement for yet another gas station. And we, as well, strenuouslyobject to allowing that special use to be granted.
We have a lovely, actively involved neighborhood on both sides of Davis Lane, across Baxter fromthe proposed gas station. It’s hard to imagine a more inappropriate use of that area so close to ourhouses, children, and in what is normally a relatively quiet neighborhood. Living in Proximity to Gas Stations is Dangerous -- The National Institutes of Health, in acomprehensive study they published in 2021 has found benzene, which is airborne from filling carswith gas, is a chemical classified as a human carcinogen; it is a causal agent of leukemia and is
associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. While people filling their cars areat moderate risk from benzene, the NIH study determined that people who live near gas stations, andchildren in schools near stations are of particularly high risk. They found people living near gasstations can be exposed to chemicals from the stations even inside their homes, up to a dozen blocks
or more from the station. The chemical exposure this gas station would represent to a large sectionof our neighborhood seems well worthy of legal action to prevent this special use. Gas Stations Are Noisy and Light Polluting -- The noise from the stoplight at Baxter and Davis
lane is already an issue as far into the neighborhood as five or six blocks. Putting in a gas station,with noisy entries and exits extending well into the night and starting early in the morning is going tobe devastating on being able to enjoy our patios, or even to sleep, even with the windows closed. And the light pollution from a gas station will glow in the windows of every single family home
facing Baxter, and well into the neighborhood on every upstairs bedroom window. Gas Stations on Corners with Exceptions to Entry and Exit Close to an Intersection RepresentsTraffic Risk. Have you seen what happens when people trying to get in and out of the gas station at
19th and Main? I just personally have seen three accidents there, and a number of near misses aspeople try to fight their way into the traffic stopped at the light. There Are Four Other Gas Options within Five-Minute Drive from Baxter and Davis Lane.
There’s a huge gas station and car wash a very short distance east on Baxter on the northeast corner
of Baxter and 19th. There’s another station at 19th and Durston. There’s a big gas station on the
west side of 19th just north of Baxter. And the Costco gas station is less than 10 minutes away to thenorth. We are not “underserved” with gas station options in this part of Bozeman.
This gas station will not only seriously deteriorate the quality of life in our neighborhood – it poses a
substantial health hazard this close to not only the existing homes, but other large, proposed housinggoing in nearby. Do not grant this permit.
Best,Brian BrandtCEO, SMRTGrid, Inc.3361 Lemhi Trail Drive, Bozeman, MT 59718
(406) 570-8502