HomeMy WebLinkAbout001 21288 - DRC comment response
March 28, 2022
Danielle Garber, Associate Planner
City of Bozeman Department of Planning and Community Development
P.O. Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
Re: Bozeman Gateway Site Plan Review Resubmittal – Boulders
COB#: 21288
MMI#: 4192.025
Dear Sarah:
This letter is to provide written responses to the comments stated in the DRC review memo dated August
30, 2021. Below are our responses associated with each comment.
Section 3 – REQUIRED CODE CORRECTIONS All citations are to the Bozeman Municipal Code (BMC).
Planning Division, Danielle Garber, dgarber@bozeman.net, 582-2272
1. Process and Submittal Requirements – A Site Plan Application is required for entitlement. If
full buildout is expected to extend beyond 2 years a master site plan may be useful. Any
requested departures must be submitted with the applicable review fees for each departure. Per
Section 38.230 include the following in your submittal.
a. Provide a phasing and construction management plan that will facilitate final occupancy
of buildings, open space, parking, and other amenities for each phase. Provide open
space, parking, and bicycle parking calculations per phase, as well as aggregate
calculations.
Buildings will all be built in one phase; a construction management plan has been
included in this resubmittal
b. Provide a color exterior material palette keyed to the building elevations. Include all
siding, trim, roofing, windows, doors, balconies, railings, storefront, glass/glazing, walls,
mechanical screening, trash enclosures, awnings and other architectural elements.
Reference the A3 and A3.1 exterior elevation sheets for the material palette.
c. A lot aggregation or lot line adjustment subdivision exemption application is required due
to building 3 covering the existing lot line and cannot meet the form and intensity
standards for R-4 zoning.
A subdivision exemption has been submitted to Planning 3/28 to be concurrently
reviewed with the site plan application
d. Update the legal description for the formal submittal to be Phase 1 of Boulder Creek
Subdivision, not Phase 2.
Legal description has been updated in formal submittal
2. Setback Encroachments – BMC 38.350.050. Detail any proposed setback encroachments on
the site plan. Upper level patios may not encroach into required setbacks.
Like Phase 1 of Boulder Creek Apartments, the terraces and patios do not extend more than 5
feet into any required front or rear setback or two feet into the side setback. There is no more
than 2’ overhang from the upper level patios.
3. Blocks – BMC 38.410.040.D. Pedestrian right of way to mitigate block length must be a city
standard 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk. The landscaping plan labels this as a trail.
Landscaping plan has been revised to call out 5-foot wide concrete sidewalk.
4. Block Frontage Standards – BMC 38.510. This project includes multiple block frontages:
Special Residential internally and Landscaped along Abigail Lane and West Oak Street. See
below comments regarding requirements for both frontages. When a building or buildings is
located such that it faces and is adjacent to multiple block frontages, the orientation of the front
of the building must be sited and placed on the property in the following order of precedence:
a. Streets.
b. Trail/Park.
c. Special residential or internal roadway (parking areas/lots, block separation
corridors).
d. Departures may be considered provided the location and front orientation of the buildings
are compatible with the character of the area and enhance the character of the street.
The primary block frontage required for building 1 is the street frontage along Abigail Ln.,
and for building 2 is the street frontage along West Oak. These buildings must
architecturally orient towards the street and provide a building entrance and pedestrian
connection from the public sidewalk, see Landscaped Block Frontage below.
Building 1 has been revised so that there is a pedestrian connection from the public sidewalk
along Abigail. Building 2 during the concept review was located in Lot 4 and had street
frontage along West Oak, however Building 2 has been relocated south of the parking lot and
is now in Lot 3
5. Landscaped Block Frontage – BMC 38.510.030.C. Demonstrate compliance with this section
in your formal submittal narrative and drawings including:
a. Building placement. A 10-foot minimum front setback, or greater where necessary to
accommodate easements is outlined in this provision and must be provided. Meeting.
However, the site plan incorrectly states that there is a 20-foot rear yard setback
along the north property line adjacent to Oak. This is in fact a front setback and
block frontage.
The site plan has been revised to indicate a 10 front yard setback along the north
property line adjacent to Oak
b. Façade transparency – Residential buildings, at least 15% of the entire façade (all vertical
surfaces generally facing the street). Meeting, details provided on elevation sheets.
All elevations have 19% façade transparency area or more. Reference calculations on
A3 and A3.1
c. Building entrances – Building entrances must be visible and directly accessible from the
street for all building ends facing a street. Buildings 1 and 2 need front facing
entrances from Abigail and Oak.
The site plan has been revised to provide building 1 an accessible entrance from the
street. The location of Building 2 has been revised so that it no long fronts onto Oak
Street.
d. Weather protection – At least 3-feet deep over primary residential entries. Provide
weather protection details on site or floor plans meeting this standard for primary
residential entries.
All entries have minimum 3’-0” deep cover.
e. Parking location - Parking must be placed to the side, rear, below or above uses. For
single and multi-building developments, surface and structured parking areas (ground
floor) are limited to no more than 50% of the street frontage. Provide a metric on the
site plan per this standard.
This metric is included in the cover sheet as a part of the Parking Information.
f. Landscaping - The area between the street and building must be landscaped, private
porch or patio space, and/or pedestrian-oriented space. For setbacks adjacent to buildings
with windows, provide low level landscaping that maintains views between the building
and the street.
Low level landscaping plants will be provided between streets and buildings
6. Special Residential Block Frontage – BMC 38.510.030.J. For residences with ground floor
living spaces facing a sidewalk or pedestrian path in a residential or mixed use development, the
building must feature at least one of the public/private space transition elements described below.
The objective of this standard is to ensure privacy and security for residents, and an attractive
and safe pathway that complements the qualities of adjoining residences within a residential
complex. Detail in the narrative and drawings which transition elements are being
employed in the site and building design.
a. Raised deck or porch option. Provide at least a 60 square foot porch or deck raised at
least one foot above grade. The porch or deck must be at least six feet deep, measured
perpendicular to the building face. (The deck may be recessed into the unit floor plan so
that deck does not extend from the building face a full six feet.) A low fence, rail or
hedge, two feet to four feet high, may be integrated between the sidewalk or internal
pathway and deck or porch.
Front setback option is selected
b. Front setback options. Provide a minimum ten-foot setback between the sidewalk or
internal pathway and the face of the residence. Design options for the front setback:
i. Landscaped area, meeting the provisions of division 38.550.
ii. Semi-private patio space screened by a low fence or hedge (see section
38.350.060).
The Front Setback option is selected. There will be a 10’ setback between sidewalk and
residence face. The area will be landscaped with a screened semi-private patio space.
c. Raised ground floor. If the residence's ground floor is a minimum of three feet above the
grade adjacent to the building, then the landscaped area in option 2 above may be reduced
to four feet wide (except where greater setbacks are specified for the applicable zoning
district in division 38.320).
Front setback option is selected.
7. Non-Motorized circulation and design – BMC 38.520.040.C.2. Sites with residential units.
Provide direct pedestrian access between all ground related unit entries and a public street or to a
clearly marked pathway network or open space that has direct access to a public street.
Residential developments must provide a pedestrian circulation network that connects all main
entrances on the site to other areas of the site, such as: a. Parking areas; b. Recreational areas; c.
Common outdoor areas; and d. Any pedestrian amenities. Direct pedestrian connections to
centrally located open spaces are required. See below for crosswalk requirements.
Reference civil site plan for sidewalk connections between parking, recreational areas,
common outdoor area, and pedestrian amenities.
8. Non-Motorized circulation and design – BMC 38.520.040.C.3. Crosswalks are required when
a pedestrian path crosses the drive aisle and must contain contrasting material (such as concrete)
and/or patterns (such as stamped asphalt), excluding painted surfaces. Detail materials proposed
in the formal submittal. Provide a crosswalk wherever pedestrian paths cross drive aisles.
Reference civil site plan for locations of cross walks at drive aisles.
9. On-Site Residential Open Space – BMC 38.520.060. All multi-household development,
including multi-household portions of mixed-use development, must provide minimum usable
open space equal to 100 square feet per dwelling unit for studio and one bedroom dwellings and
150 square feet per dwelling unit for dwellings with two or more bedrooms. The required open
space may be provided in a combination of ways:
a. Shared open space. One hundred percent of the required open space may be in the form of
shared open space available to all residents and meeting the requirements of subsection B.2
below. Shared open space may be in the form of courtyards, front porches, patios, play areas,
gardens or similar spaces. Provide amenities (benches, community garden, other types of
seating, lighting, dog play areas, etc.) in the formal submittal. Also provide the
landscaping, fencing, or architectural screening from the parking lot, and any ground
level windows, mechanical equipment, and utility meters. Clarify if the open area to the
south of the parking lot is proposed as open space or parkland. It does not meet the
design requirements for dedicated parkland. Reach out to the Parks Dept. with any
questions. If providing that space as usable open space see above requirements.
Shared open space combined with balcony space is provided. Reference calculations on
civil site plan. The open space includes seating area and separate fenced dog area, see
landscape and civil site plans.
b. Ground level private outdoor space. One hundred percent of the required open space may be
provided by ground level outdoor space that is adjacent and directly accessible to the subject
unit. Such open spaces must be enclosed by a fence and/or hedge at least 32 inches in height
to qualify. Departures to this standards are permitted. Ground level patios used to meet
open space requirement must meet this standard.
All patios are enclosed by 32” height walls, see architecture plans. Ground level patios are
included in open space calculations
c. Balconies. Up to 50 percent of the required open space may be provided by private balconies
provided they meet these requirements: such spaces must be at least 36 square feet, with no
dimension less than six feet, to provide a space usable for human activity. See this section
for units with balconies if counting towards the required total area. Delineate
dimensions and area of each balcony on the floor plans.
The balconies are over 36SF and 6’-0” in depth. Reference A2 and A2.1 for balcony
dimensions. Reference civil site plan for open space and balcony calculations.
10. Location and design of service areas and mechanical equipment - BMC 38.520.070.C. The
sides and rear of service enclosures must be screened with landscaping at least 5-feet wide in
locations visible from the street, parking lots, and pathways. A full 5-feet is required the entire
length of the sides and rear of the trash enclosures.
Trash enclosures have been adjusted to provide 5’ wide areas for landscape screening.
11. Building massing and articulation – BMC 38.530.040.C. Residential buildings must include
articulation features at appropriate intervals relative to the scale of the façade in order to reduce
the perceived massing of the building and add visual interest. At least three of the features listed
in this section must be employed at intervals relative to the individual dwelling units or at a
maximum of every 30 feet. The scale of the façade articulation should be compatible with the
surrounding context. Detail in the narrative and drawings which articulation features are
being utilized.
Windows, entries, weather protection features, roofline change and building material change
are used to break up the massing of the building. A combination of horizontal lap siding and
vertical corrugated siding is used. The roof shifts in height with gable roofs of different size
and orientation, with shed roofs and canopies.
12. Building massing and articulation – BMC 38.530.040.E. Building façades wider than 150 feet
must include at least one of the listed features in this section to break up the massing of the
building and add visual interest. Detail in the narrative and drawings which articulation
feature is being utilized for building 3.
At the stairs, there is a 12’ wide extrusion in the building to break up the mass. At the patio
side, there is a 12’ wide by 6’ deep extrusion. Roofline modulation is also used.
13. Number of parking spaces required – BMC 38.540.050.A.5.b. See this section for bicycle
parking location and dimensional requirements. Bicycle parking must be within 50-feet of an
entrance. Provide some bicycle parking on the south side of the south lot within 50-feet of an
entrance.
Bicycle parking is located next to each Phase 2 building within 50-feet of an entrance.
14. Landscaping – Section 38.550.050.C.2.a(2-4). (2) All parking lots located between a principal
structure and a public street, must be screened from the public street, (3) The screening required
under this subsection must be continuous and not less than four feet in width unless a different
width is specified in 38.510.030; and (4) Screening must be maintained at a height of four to six
feet except as otherwise restricted by fence and hedge height limits within required front setbacks
and street vision triangles. Ensure landscaping used to screen parking areas meets this
requirement.
The west end of the parking lot will be screened from Abigail lane with a continuous 4-6’
hedge.
15. Lighting – BMC 38.570. Provide photometric site and elevation plans.
Photometric site and elevation plans have been included in this resubmittal.
Advisory Comments from Water Conservation. See attached memorandum.
Engineering Division, Karl Johnson, kajohnson@bozeman.net, 406-582-2281 1. See attached
memorandum.
North Western Energy; Thomas Stewart, thomas.stewart@northwestern.com 406-582-4602
1. Will the new buildings require gas in addition to electric services?
The new building will require electrical
2. There are both gas and electric utilities on the west side of Abigail Lane that can be extended
across Abigail Lane. Any extension of utilities from the west side of Abigail Lane may require
boring the utilities from the west side to the east side. Applicant will need to work with NWE
engineer to determine the best path for bringing utilities into the project for best use of
transformer locations to minimize utility equipment.
Understood – the utility plan illustrates the proposed electrical layout, please advise.
3. Location of the transformers. If the building should require 3 phase power a transformer pad site
should be planned. Typical 3-phase pad is going to be a 7’x7’ pad. For oil filled transformers a 2-
foot clearance is required to non-combustible walls and surfaces that do not have any openings
such as doors, windows, air intake, and fire escapes routes, and meets current NEC or NFPA
requirements for non-combustible material. For transformers 750kVA & larger a 3-foot 6-inch
clearance is required. For both locations, 10-feet of clearance is required on the front side of the
pad where the transformer doors are located. Note, all distances are referenced to the edge of the
pad. For any combustible surface, not meeting current NEC or NFPA requirements for non-
combustible material, a minimum of a 10-foot clearance is required. For planting of bushes or
shrubs a Minimum Working Space for a Pad-Mounted Transformer, is 4-feet on the sides and
back portion of the concrete pad and 10-feet of clearance on the front side of the pad where the
transformer doors are located. Note, all distances are referenced to the edge of the pad. The NWE
project engineer will help to determine the appropriate location for the transformer. Due to
COVID 19 there has been an impact on receiving larger three phase and single phase
transformers and a longer timeline may be needed to receive the needed equipment for these
services.
Understood please advise if transformer location is acceptable
4. Applicant needs to show proposed meter locations & elevation plans showing the meter locations
for the NWE project engineer to review.
Reference exterior elevation on A3 for meter locations.
5. Service & Meter Location. NWE will need to review proposed location of gas and electric
meters. The electric meter & or CT cabinet will need to be installed in the same general location
within 10-feet of the gas meter. NorthWestern Energy reserves the right to specify the location of
our meters. All meters are to be located outdoors on the corner or in a location on the building
closest to the transformer or secondary junction can serving the building unit. On new
construction, electric meter locations must be within 10 feet of the gas meter if NorthWestern
Energy will be providing both electric and gas service. Meter locations will need to be approved
by NWE. NWE policy is to maintain a minimum 30-inches wide by 3-feet clear zone between the
front of the meter and landscape screening or wall screening for self-contained meter bases and
48-inches for installations requiring cabinets. Location of the meter(s) shall allow easy access to
the meters for operation and maintenance. Gas meters. The following applies to all buildings in
regards to the gas regulator. The gas regulator cannot be placed under a window or within 3’ of
the operable portion of the window. It can be placed under a window/deck on the second story,
provided the “open/operable” portion has at least 6’ of clearance from the regulator. Ensure that
there is 10’ of separation from any mechanical air intake, including Page 7 of 8 air conditioning
units. The regulator will need to be 3’ from the closest corner of any portion of the electric meter
base.
Understood
6. Where multiple units are proposed there will be a need to install multiple meters within the same
location. With multiple meters, adequate wall space will be needed to install the number of
electric and gas meters, and electric gear. For gas meters, NWE will only stack gas meters 2 high
and therefore the needed wall space for gas meters will require a longer wall space. The two areas
for gas and electric meters will need to occupy the same wall space, unless otherwise approved by
a NWE project engineer, with the needed separation between gas and electric meters.
Understood
7. When there are multiple units with multiple meters NWE requires that the meters have a
permanent placard for each meter. For multiple metering each location or premise must have its
address and unit numbers permanently attached by means of a placard to the meter bases and the
individual apartment /unit breaker boxes before the meter is set. These identifying placards must
match the unit information as displayed on the unit’s entry door.
Understood
8. Applicant needs to show proposed meter screening methods for the NWE engineer to review. If
using a screening wall a drawing of the screening wall need to be reviewed and approved by
NWE for underground utility installation under the wall and access for operation and
maintenance lines and equipment. Screening Wall criteria: a. Gas service cannot penetrate
foundation walls that are attached to the building foundation per the International Fuel Code. Gas
riser need to penetrate the building above ground. However, if the foundation is not attached to
the building i.e. the foundation wall is isolated from the building for just supporting the wall, this
is acceptable. b. If this is a free standing foundation wall, a knock-out must be provided that is a
min of 2’x2’ but may be required that the knockout be larger on the electric service depending on
the meter base amperage. Consult NWE for proper sizing of knockout c. Contact NWE for
placement of knock-out to insure that it lines up properly with the termination location to prevent
bends in the gas or electric services. d. Screening must meet the clear zone requirement of NWE
Electric Service Requirements which typically for commercial application is 48” from the face of
the electric meter. See meter location comment. e. Gas meter cannot be located in recessed
location where it is not open atmosphere above the meter without approval from NWE. f.
Screening cannot consist of rolling doors or other devices that are required to be open to access
the meters. 9. Utility easement. Any extension of gas main or electric primary will need to be
installed within an easement. To establish the needed utility easement locations the NWE project
engineer and Northwester Energy’s real estate representative will help to establish these
locations. Page 8 of 8 10. Landscaping. No large, deep rooted trees or bushes will be allowed
within the 10-foot utility easement. No large trees reaching heights of 15-feet or taller will be
allowed under any overhead distribution lines. All other approved landscaping will be placed so
as not to damage, prevent or hinder operation and maintenance of NWE utilities. Noted. 11.
Submit an application online to have the project engineer work with the applicant through NWE
engineering standards and processes. Go to www.northwesternenergy.com/construction to apply
online Montana Construction Application, and access Montana New Service Guide to provide
information on electric and gas service requirements
A screening wall has been proposed and is shown on the civil details
Other Reviewers:
Solid Waste Division; Russ Ward, rward@bozeman.net, 406-582-3235
Parks Department, Matthew Lee, mjlee@bozeman.net, 406-582-2339
Building Division; Ben Abbey, babbey@bozeman.net, 406-582-2950
Forestry Division; Alex Nordquest, anordquest@bozeman.net, 406-582-3205
Fire Department; Scott Mueller, smueller@bozeman.net, 406-582-2382
Sustainability Division; Natalie Meyer, nmeyer@bozeman.net, 406-582-2317
Stormwater Division; Adam Oliver, aoliver@bozeman.net, 406-582-2916
Water and Sewer Division; John Alston, jalston@bozeman.net, 406-582-3200
If you should have any questions regarding these comments, revisions and corrections for the Boulder
Site Plan Application Resubmittal don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
_____________________________
Matthew E. Ekstrom, PE
Project Engineer