HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-23 Public Comment - B. and K. Rydell - Ordinance 2151 UDC UpdateFrom:Robert Rydell
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Ordinance 2151 UDC Update
Date:Friday, September 15, 2023 1:45:01 PM
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15 September 2023
To: Community Development Board
RE: Code Studio Rezoning proposal
We are writing to urge you to reject this rezoning proposal that erases existing residential
zoning districts and replaces them with new RA districts. This plan will change existing
neighborhoods in ways that will actually harm them, changing their character and
undermining the quality of life in this community. Shoehorning more buildings and more
people into neighborhoods will increase traffic, noise, and parking difficulties and likely have
an overall negative impact on environmental quality. This proposal will do more harm than
good and the rush to meet the proposed timeline for adoption should be stopped in its tracks.
This proposal for residential rezoning does not need to be tweaked. It needs to be rethought
from the ground up with much more input from the public. We have been shocked to learn
how many people are unaware of the plan to revise the UDC. In our opinion, it would be a
categorical mistake to assume that most residents in Bozeman know about and approve of
this plan. Indeed, our review of the public comments to date shows an utter lack of support
for residential rezoning.
The proposal by Code Studio is tone deaf to Bozeman’s history and to the character of its
neighborhoods. It has been written with little knowledge of or feeling for this community.
Better to start the process over than to do irreparable harm to the heart and soul of this city—
its neighborhoods.
One driver behind this plan seems to be the assumption that increasing the amount of
housing will lower its costs. But where is the evidence that building more and denser housing
in this community over the past 5-10 years has actually made housing and rental prices more
affordable? Why eradicate existing zoning (and neighborhoods) before we know if it is the
solution to the affordable housing crisis?
If we look at Bozeman’s “Strategic Plan,” it plainly says that Bozeman is committed to an
environmental ethic. Please note that the word “sustainability” does not appear in this UDC
draft; neither does the phrase “climate change.” The word “environmental” appears 35 times,
but not once in the section--Section 2-- that addresses zoning changes.
In the last Montana legislative session, several bills were passed with provisions not addressed
satisfactorily in this plan. For instance, SB 382 allows a choice between multiple less extreme
options for increasing housing supply and a 3-5 year timeline to implement them. Clearly, the
City’s drastic timeline and Code Studio’s extreme proposed zoning changes are totally
unnecessary in light of SB 382’s provisions.
To sum up, this proposal is premature at best, reckless at worst, and all about development at
the expense of the foundational values of this community as represented by its
neighborhoods. Approving this proposal would be doing irreversible harm to this community.
Sincerely,
Bob and Kiki Rydell
622 South Grand Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59715