HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-05-23 Public Comment - T. Belton - OBJECTION to UDC zoning proposal CDBFrom:Timothy Belton
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]OBJECTION to UDC zoning proposal
Date:Tuesday, October 3, 2023 4:45:58 PM
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Dear Community Development Board Members,
I am writing in opposition to the rash UDC proposal for Bozeman, in particular because it
would utterly destroy the Historic District in the large area around Cooper Park and SouthPark.
This Historic District is a gem unique to Bozeman that most American cities could only
dream of having. It is pedestrian and bicycle-friendly, contains literally hundreds of carefullykept up historic structures, a thick cover of beautiful trees, and thanks to the allowed addition
of historically appropriate small ADUs, is already at a relatively high density without theaddition of multi-story condominiums that would destroy its fabric. Many of these ADUs are
relatively affordable.
North of Main St. the few historic homes struggle to compete with the adjacentcondominiums, but that combination of historic and commercial has developed over decades
and is a neighborhood of its own but of a very very different type than the Historic Districtsouth of Main.
Bozeman is a sophisticated community with much diversity... each neighborhood with its own
character, but only one is irreplaceable: the south side Historic District.
As a retired Architect and Planner I urge you to disallow this proposal that would destroyBozeman's fabric. The investor-grade condominiums that result in modern, largely emptystructures adjacent to streets empty of family life, are the perfect formula to kill thesouthside HIstoric District and cheapen the city of Bozeman.
Sincerely,
Timothy Belton, AIA Emeritus2022 Montana Architectural license #ARC-LIC-10779