HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-29-23 Public Comment - C. Bartholomew - FW_ Proposed Thriftway gas station in Baxter Meadows neighborhoodFrom:Nakeisha Lyon
To:Mike Maas
Subject:FW: Proposed Thriftway gas station in Baxter Meadows neighborhood
Date:Tuesday, June 27, 2023 12:56:50 PM
Hi Mike,
Can you add this to project 22039?
It’s outside of the public comment period but she did email the Commissioners which may be important to capture in
the public comment record overall.
Thank you,
Nakeisha Lyon, AICP | Associate Planner | Community DevelopmentPronouns: she, her, hersCity of Bozeman | 20 East Olive St. | P.O. Box 1230 | Bozeman, MT 59771P: 406.582.2963 | E: nlyon@bozeman.net | W: www.bozeman.net/planningThe City has enhanced our project intake process and will now be receiving all project submittals - New and Revisions, throughProjectDox. As a result of this transition in process, response times to inquiries may be delayed. We understand the impacts anydelay may create for your site development and we will make every effort to provide you with the highest level of customer servicein a timely manner. We encourage you to review our Development Center webpage and become familiar with the new intakeprocess. Your patience during this transition is greatly appreciated.
From: Nakeisha Lyon
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 10:54 AM
To: Cheryl Bartholomew <fitseniors@gmail.com>
Subject: RE: Proposed Thriftway gas station in Baxter Meadows neighborhood
Hi Cheryl, Thank you for reaching out on this project, and contacting your City Commissioners. The public notice for the site plan and special use permit proposal is the responsibility of the applicant, not theCommunity Development Department.The applicant provides notice to adjacent property owners within 200 feet of the property boundaries as well asproperty postings on the subject property.If you fall outside of this boundary, you would not have been notified.This public notice process is in conformance with State law and the Bozeman Municipal Code. You can find this information here:https://library.municode.com/mt/bozeman/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH38UNDECO_ART2PELEACPR_DIV38.220APNO_PT3NO_S38.220.420NOREAPPR Because the applicant applied for a special use permit, the only item within this that City staff coordinates ontheir behalf is the notice in the newspaper.The newspaper notice in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle was advertised on May 13, and May 20. It’s unfortunate to hear that you are just now finding out about this project especially from a news article andyou were not able to provide your public comments during the public notice period.This was not intentionally done by the City or the applicant.The applicant is meeting the standards of the code and the applicable laws.I can only encourage the applicant to send mailings out to more landowners within a certain distance or to holda meeting with the neighbors, which I encouraged them to do over a year ago when this application first camethrough.Regardless, I cannot mandate them to do so. The concerns you have expressed in your comments to the City Commissioners and in your email to me echomany of the public comments we received.There were only a few of these that the City has the capability to address in the special use permit process.
Others are regulated by the State, or things that are out of the control of local jurisdictions.
I have attached the preliminary approval staff report on this project as a decision has been made as of June 22nd.Based on the type of use and the concerns we received on the proposal, the City has limited the operating hoursof the store, gas pumps, and lighting as well as are requiring a screening wall to mitigate headlights alongBaxter Lane from the residences to the south.The store, gas pumps, and all lighting on site must cease operations between 11 pm to 6 am. As you denoted in your email that you will be reaching out to your HOA to initiate action, since a decision hasbeen made, an appeal of the Community Development Director’s decision is an option you all have. I wasspeaking with the Crossings II Subdivision who also were looking into an appeal. I am not sure where theystand with this but wanted to share that information as you coordinate with yours. To formally appeal this decision, the appeal document, fee, and application must be submitted through ourProject Dox portal.Here is the checklist for an Administrative Project Decision Appeal which provides links to the Project Doxportal and other important information.https://www.bozeman.net/home/showpublisheddocument/4817/638151689571770000 The fee to appeal an administrative project decision is $2,329. This must be submitted prior to the appeal beingprocessed.
This must be submitted within 10 working days after the date of the decision which is July 7th. The checklist above and code section below provides some the materials that are needed for that process. Code Section regarding Administrative project decision appeals:https://library.municode.com/mt/bozeman/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH38UNDECO_ART2PELEACPR_DIV38.250APDEDEVAPR_S38.250.030ADPRDEAP Thank you,
Nakeisha Lyon, AICP | Associate Planner | Community DevelopmentPronouns: she, her, hersCity of Bozeman | 20 East Olive St. | P.O. Box 1230 | Bozeman, MT 59771P: 406.582.2963 | E: nlyon@bozeman.net | W: www.bozeman.net/planningThe City has enhanced our project intake process and will now be receiving all project submittals - New and Revisions, throughProjectDox. As a result of this transition in process, response times to inquiries may be delayed. We understand the impacts anydelay may create for your site development and we will make every effort to provide you with the highest level of customer servicein a timely manner. We encourage you to review our Development Center webpage and become familiar with the new intakeprocess. Your patience during this transition is greatly appreciated.
From: Cheryl Bartholomew <fitseniors@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 10:23 AM
To: Nakeisha Lyon <nlyon@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: Fwd: Proposed Thriftway gas station in Baxter Meadows neighborhood
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.
Hi Nikeisha, Please read the email I am forwarding which I sent to the Mayor and City Commissioners yesterday. Commissioner Madgic suggested I contact you to express my concerns and opposition to the special use permitfor the Thriftway gas station and convenience store project to be built on Davis and Baxter Lanes. I would like to know why the community development department did not directly reach out to the surroundingcommunity ( Baxter Meadows Subdivision) to implicently notify us of this impending proposed project. Postinga sign on the vacant lot without reaching out to all homeowners directly or indirectly impacted by this project is
unacceptable. I only found out about this proposed project yesterday via a Bozeman Chronicle article whichcame up on my phone. I therefore request that this project not move forward without ample time for input from the Baxter Meadowscommunity and any/ all other surrounding subdivisions that will suffer unnecessary consequences includingincreased traffic congestion and air pollution, not to mention the degradation of property values due to thisproposed project. There are more than enough gas stations and convenience stores within a few miles of BaxterMeadows in high traffic areas, where they should be. We take pride in our community and there are numerousmore acceptable commercial options that would enhance our community such as a walk to restaurant, amedical/ wellness center, a child care center etc. I appreciate your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to your cooperative response. Cheryl BartholomewChairperson, Age Friendly Bozeman2314 Milkhouse Ave.Bozeman, MT 59718 ---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Cheryl Bartholomew <fitseniors@gmail.com>Date: Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 1:32 PMSubject: Proposed Thriftway gas station in Baxter Meadows neighborhoodTo: Cyndy Andrus <candrus@bozeman.net>Cc: Terry Cunningham <tcunningham@bozeman.net>, <ipomeroy@bozeman.net>, Christopher Coburn<ccoburn@bozeman.net>, Jennifer Madgic <jmadgic@bozeman.net>
Dear Mayor Andrus and City Commissioners, It has just come to my attention via this article: https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/city/gas-station-proposed-for-northwest-bozeman-intersection/article_02415514-0c70-11ee-b9e6-a74f1764a017.html#:~:text=A%20gas%20station%20and%20convenience,about%205%20acres%20of%20land.that this proposed gas station is all but finalized with regard to city approval and implementation. This raises many questions in my mind since I and many other homeowners/ residents of Baxter Meadows andother surrounding neighborhoods had no knowledge of this project and are strongly opposed to it. I would liketo know how and when the city reached out to our communities to get input from us. Just discussing suchimpactful projects at weekly Tuesday Commissioners meetings is not enough to ensure the community is awareof all that is taking place in Bozeman. Did you post signage of the impending project and present opportunitiesfor input from the immediate neighborhoods? Did the city reach out to the HOA representatives and ask them toinform and discuss this with the homeowners/ residents? If not, why not? As the Chairperson for Age Friendly Bozeman, the local chapter of the AARP/WHO Network of LivableCommunities, The decision to move forward with this proposed Thriftway gas station/ convenience storecoupled with the lack of communication and opportunity for input from the west side residents does not alignwith the objectives that define a "livable" community for all ages and abilities. Neighborhoods of livablecommunities are designed to minimize traffic congestion, and include purposeful commercial services such asrestaurants, wellness centers/ medical offices, child care facilities etc........NOT gas stations with conveniencestores that encourage traffic congestion, air pollution etc. Bozeman has not yet earned the right to call itself alivable community. Let's change that by making decisions that represent the needs and preferences that bestserve the residents'. A gas station is unnecessary and unwanted in this neighborhood. Instead of enriching orimproving our neighborhood, it will degrade it.
As a homeowner in Baxter Meadows for more than 12 years, I am already frustrated with traffic congestionchallenges to exiting the subdivision safely. We need relief from increasingly unsafe traffic patterns andinsufficient road design that negatively impacts our ability to navigate inside and outside of our neighborhoodyear round. I implore you not to move forward with this proposed gas station because it will add to theconsistently increasing traffic congestion. Instead, find ways to enhance this residential area by seekingpurposeful commercial development that will boost community connection and provide meaningful services. I have been supportive of many city projects; directly and indirectly partaking in some of them. I strive to findnegotiable solutions and to make a positive difference within our community. I am not a person who turns tosocial media to condemn objectives I am not in agreement with... I choose to go to the source and ask, how canwe resolve this dilemma? What are my options to preventing this proposed project from becoming a reality? Ifit is too late, then the city has failed me and my neighborhood because it did not ensure that we were properlynotified, and had opportunities to express our concerns or approval/ disapproval, from its inception. Thank you for your serious consideration of this matter. I have also reached out to my HOA board members toinitiate action. I look forward to your response before the end of this week. Respectfully,Cheryl BartholomewChairperson, Age Friendly Bozeman2314 Milkhouse AveBozeman, MT 59718