HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-02-23 Public Comment - D. Center - Proposed Zoning ChangesFrom:Dean Center
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Proposed Zoning Changes
Date:Monday, October 2, 2023 9:26:26 AM
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I have reviewed the proposed zoning change and it talks at length about buildings and land
use. It speaks of community objectives, and striving for walkability and low fuel uses, which
are appropriate concerns. It says almost nothing, however, about people.
Recalling Konrad Lorenz and “The Territorial Imperative,” all animals, people included, have
an inherent need for space. Some animals, like gophers, need little space, and these would
include humans in certain cultures and such humans who gravitate toward large cities, like
New York. Other animals, like wolverines and fishers, have huge spatial requirements, and
such humans gravitate to Montana.
When humans live too tightly packed, they feel threatened and vigilant, their lizard braingets activated and they become defensive, even aggressive. It's no accident that denselypopulated areas have more crime per capita than more sparsely populated areas. It's totallypredictable that Bozeman's Police Department no longer spends most of it's time on trafficenforcement, as the rate of more violent crime has dramatically increased over the last 30years.
Some of Bozeman's residents view the desire for detached single family homes with a lawn
and a swing set as elitism. I see it as people identifying their desired environment and living
with the space they need to be mentally healthy, productive, and be able to best raise their
children. If you want to promote affordable housing, you should stop allowing developers to
remove existing affordable housing from inventory. Instead, require them to replace 1
affordable unit with 1 affordable unit, somewhere in the city.
Obviously, not all the people living in South Central LA have the space they need to be
happy. Many would choose to live in more spacious environs, if they had the financial
means and opportunity to live elsewhere. So, yes, there is a class effect, here. But turning
Bozeman into Denver is not the solution.
What makes Bozeman special is the outdoors and the space and the tree shaded, single
family home neighborhoods of Bozeman's Southside. Everybody seems to think it's
Downtown. In my opinion, Downtown/Main Street, a “vibrant, urban environment” with new
nightlife and trendy shops and restaurants, is a problem, as it appeals to people who are
comfortable in concrete and crowds, and not the goal.
Your job is to represent the people of Bozeman, to learn, and to lead the community intothe future. That includes the people who have lived here more than 3 years, and not thepart-year residents and investors. The proposed zoning is an example of how your currentdirection is off the mark.
Specifically, the proposed plan,
Gives too much emphasis to creating a hive and too little to a mentally healthy
environment
Gives too much power to the Community Development Director
Crams too many people into currently single family residential neighborhoods (12dwelling units on my block!)
Emphasizes the structures in the historic area, but neglects the quality of life that takes
place there.
Dean Center
45 years a contributing citizen raising productive, healthy children on Bozeman's Southside