HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-05-23 Public Comment - N. Poritz - Final Engagement ReportFrom:Noah and Leona Poritz
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Final Engagement Report
Date:Thursday, October 5, 2023 6:07:20 PM
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Bozeman City Commissioners:
Regarding the Final Engagement Report which was recently released:
1) Who got the 435 brochures?
2) Who was invited to the 10 Stakeholder meetings?
The answers are in the report. The answers are very disturbing. The brochures were handed out at
12 “intercept events” around town over a 1 year period.
There were 20 different brochures on topics like, "Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)", "Bike Parking",
"Height Limits", "Zone Edge Transitions" etc. At the back of these brochures there was a short
questionnaire and a place for people to provide general comment. However, only 435 brochures
were returned, with some individuals completing more than one brochure. Bozeman’s population at
the last census was somewhere over 50,000 people. So effectively the City heard from less than
1/1000th (0.001%) of the population. The situation with the Stakeholder meetings is even more
distressing. The list of meetings starts on page 54 of the report.
I couldn’t find 10 “Stakeholder meetings”, but those labeled as such included the following: 9/12/22
was Designers and Architects. 9/13/22 was Real Estate Developers. 1/30/23 Northwestern Energy
Stakeholder meeting. 2/17/23 Affordable Housing Group Stakeholder meeting 2/28/23 Real Estate
Developers 2nd meeting 2/28/23 Designers and Architects 2nd meeting.
That's 6 meetings, but it doesn't identify who any of the attending individuals, firms, or
organizations. A group called Neighborhood Economics says: “Who are community stakeholders?
They are generally defined as people, groups, organizations or businesses that have interest or
concern in the community. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the community’s actions,
objectives and policies.” By this definition, I don’t feel that ALL categories of stakeholders were
adequately consulted.
I constantly hear the criticism that the City is catering to developers over residents. Your own report
makes me think this IS in fact the case. In closing, do you think the community input you collected
from less than .001% of the population qualifies as ROBUST?
Sincerely,
Noah Poritz