HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-23 Public Comment - B. Waters - proposed zoning changesFrom:Bob Waters.
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]proposed zoning changes
Date:Saturday, September 16, 2023 3:35:20 PM
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Dear Commissioners:
By passing SB323, our legislature and Governor claimed to have struck a blow against what is pejoratively referred
to as “California Style” residential zoning. Although the Gallatin Valley’s out-of-control “California Style”
residential zoning does threaten the Yellowstone Ecosystem, crowd our roads, add to automobile pollution, and
gobble up farmland, the zoning changes mandated in SB323 will do nothing to reign in that sprawl, as those who
wish to and can afford to buy a single family home in the county will continue to do so. The use of the “California
Style” pejorative is, therefore, hardly applicable to the changes forced by SB323. The bill merely throws the baby
out with the bathwater by destroying established neighborhoods while the sprawl is permitted to continue nearly
unabated. There is, after all, a great deal of money to be made via sprawl, and property rights in Montana remain
nearly sacrosanct, unless, of course, one lives within the confines of a city with a population over 5,000. But, I
digress.
As bad as it is, SB323 mandates merely the inclusion of duplexes in what has been R1 zoning. It is a giant step from
that to the proposal currently before the Commission that would allow fourplexs and eightplexes on lots previously
zoned R1 or R2, creating urban density that would totally erode the very nature of Bozeman’s residential
neighborhoods and completely overwhelm already overcrowded parking on residential streets.
If four and eightplexes are allowed in my neighborhood near MSU, developers will be presented with an opportunity
to purchase and demolish single family homes or fill lots to the brim in order to construct behemoth four and
eightplex structures to house as many students as possible at draconian prices. The fact that my neighborhood is also
situated in an Opportunity Zone provides an added tax incentive for developers and investors, creating a perfect
storm for the destruction of residential neighborhoods. Such fourplexes and eightplexes are likely to become party-
central, plaguing heretofore relatively quiet and well-kept neighborhoods with noise, clutter, and poor property
maintenance. You can trust me on this, as we’ve lived surrounded by student rentals for much of the more than
forty-four years we’ve lived near MSU.
Although the availability of such housing near the university might spur MSUs growth, it is unlikely to provide
additional housing opportunities for teachers, nurses, MSU faculty members and others currently priced out of the
housing purchasing and rental markets. Those residents of Bozeman might continue to be priced out of housing by
the endless pressure of inmigration and MSUs growth, which gobble up property like a grizzly bear devours food
sources during hyperphagia. If that proves to be the case, the destruction of neighborhood character will have been
for naught.
As I understand it, money provided by taxpayers like my wife and me has been used to hire a consulting firm to lend
“expert” credibility to the proposal currently before the commission. They’ve dressed up their recommendations
with slick visuals and wordy underpinnings while lining their pockets with our gold. Although I don’t know where
the members of the the consulting group live, I doubt that they have skin in the game. It’s easy to make
recommendations that affect other's lives, but I’ll wager that they would probably rail against the prospect of having
an eightplex built within fifty feet of their own home. Indeed, our Governor, who signed SB323, lives behind a
locked gate and would clearly prefer to have nobody even fishing the public stream that runs through his estate.
How would he react if he were suddenly mandated to allow someone to build an eightplex next to his house?
There’s a great deal of rather smug indifference to the lives of others in both SB323 and in this proposal that is to
come before the Bozeman City Commission.
You Commissioners, unlike outside “experts”,are part of this community and find yourselves faced with a decision
that carries profound consequences for the place you call home. Please don’t destroy the very nature of our town by
falling prey to the recommendations of those for whom proposed solutions are merely theoretical. No matter howwidely implemented throughout urban America or aggressively promoted here in Montana, this newest fad inhousing need not dictate the look, the feel, or the future of Bozeman‘s established neighborhoods. It’s a poor fit anda risky gamble for this stressed and brittle town.
This much is certain. If a four or eightplex is built on the property next to ours, we’ll be moving to a better place.
Bob WatersBozeman Resident for 44 years
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