HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15-23 Public Comment - K. Ryder - UDCFrom:Ken Ryder
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment
Date:Friday, September 15, 2023 9:48:58 AM
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To: City of Bozeman Community Development Board
From: Ken Ryder, Bozeman resident (kenryder65@gmail.com)Date: September 15, 2023
In re: Comments submitted for consideration at the Board's meeting September 18, 2023regarding proposed changes to Residential Zoning
Dear Members of the City of Bozeman's Community Development Board
I am writing to express my deep concerns and vehement opposition to many of the proposed
changes to Bozeman's residential zoning. First, a little history.I moved to Bozeman in 1977 from Boulder, Colorado where I resided for 12 years during the
1960's and 70's. Upon arrival in Bozeman I wrote a rather prophetic letter to the BozemanDaily Chronicle comparing Bozeman to Boulder and how, over time, Bozeman would grow
and become more and more like Boulder. Fast forward 46 years to the present. My prophecyproved correct. The amount of growth Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley as a whole is
experiencing is unprecedented and will most likely continue well into the future. Change isinevitable, I accept that reality. How we change, why we change and how it affects us as
individual residents and as a community is something that we can have control over.
If one of the guiding principals of the proposed residential zoning changes is to provideaffordable housing then a long look in the mirror is required. I live in the 500 block of South
Black Ave. immediately to the east of Longfellow Elementary school. I have lived here for 44of the 46 years of my Bozeman residency. My property lies within the South Tracy/ South
Black Historic District. My house is registered on the National Historic register as are manyothers in my neighborhood. During my years as a residential building contractor I remodeled,
renovated and built additions to many houses within Bozeman's Historic Southside. For thiswork I was awarded a Certificate of Excellence from the Bozeman Historic Preservation
Advisory Board. I was a member of the board as well. In addition, I served a two year term asa member of Bozeman's Design Review Board. I provided a "nuts and bolts" approach to the
Board's meetings concerning what was appropriate design and how it can be achieved in anaffordable manner. My tenure on the Design Review Board was during the 1990's when
Bozeman was really starting to grow and change. Many of the other Board members werearchitecture professors at MSU, architects in private practice and otherwise some concerned
citizens who had a community spirit and were willing to serve as volunteers in the bestinterests of Bozeman. I believe many of the requirements that Board members put forth for
someone proposing changes to the exterior of their houses whether in a historic district or aConservation Overlay District, while well intended, were simply beyond the financial means
of many of the applicants. That is where my experience as a builder and someone who wasvery knowledgeable about the costs of remodeling. renovation and adding on came in. I was
able to provide a reality check to the other board members and quite often a reasonablecompromise was struck so that an applicant was able to proceed with their intended project,
conform to acceptable design standards that were consistent to the "fabric of the
neighborhood" and do so in an affordable manner.
That process and those days gone by seem rather quaint now in context of the massivedevelopment and growth Bozeman is experiencing. Witness the development occurring along
North Willson Avenue now. One of the new apartment buildings which will be completed in2024 is pre-selling units. The 3 bedroom 2 bath units are listed at $2.2 million! Tell me that is
"affordable"! This is happening all over town, both in the core areas and on the fringes of thecity on recently annexed land.
Yes, change is inevitable but the kind of change that favors out of state developers and plays
to a wealthy demographic is not and should not be inevitable. Please consider the reality of the"average" Bozeman citizens, their financial means and the many outstanding neighborhoods
that exist in all quadrants of Bozeman. Not everything has to change or should change.
Sincerely,Ken Ryder