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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-23 Public Comment - A. Sweeney - Attn_ Community Development Advisory Board and Department StaffFrom:Alison Sweeney To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Attn: Community Development Advisory Board and Department Staff Date:Monday, October 9, 2023 7:58:41 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Adding density to the core neighborhoods of Bozeman will not reduce sprawl unless you can work with the county for a unified housing plan. Don't destroy what we've built here for an unachievable goal. Please every board member and staff consider this document I've compiled about ourwonderful neighborhood. Neighborhood Renaissance.pdf Alison B. SweeneyBernadette's Handmade Jewelry Bozeman MT406-404-5740 alison-bernadettes.com 418 S 14th Before After With a Basement Apartment Neighborhood Renaissance Over the last 10-15 years our little neighborhood has seen a sort of renaissance. Some of our original residents are still here (in their 80’s and 90’s) but for many years the neighborhood was neglected and suffered from rental apathy. Absentee landlords work through agencies and never have contact with their property or tenants. Conditions slipped and rents went up, as these owners tried to squeeze the most out of tenants, while spending the bare minimum to keep the place habitable. But then we started seeing a new type of resident. On the scene came a wave of first time homebuyers, middle-aged renters, and young families looking for a house, with a yard, near a school, in a safe neighborhood. All of a sudden derelict properties are being transformed by this new group with a vested interest in making a community where they live. The old timers have new neighbors to befriend and share their stories and turn to when they need help. More sidewalks are being shoveled, buildings have been painted and repaired, and sometimes tastefully remodeled. The number of solar electric systems installed is growing. More lawns are being mowed, new trees are planted, and gardens are popping up everywhere. Here's an example of the good work we've been doing. 315 S 11th Ave Before After Alderson Street Before After 709 S 12th Ave Before After 503 S 14th Ave Before After 621 S 12th Ave Before After Can you change the rules on someone after they've made this type of investment! We've poured time, energy, thought, sweat-equity, and real money into building a neighborhood in conformity to existing regulations. Please give our plans and investment the same consideration you gave to existing compliant type 3 Short Term Rentals when you decided to grandfather them in. Street view Alley view 14th Street ADU This ADU is barely visible from the street. It's the tallest structure in the entire block of housing and yet it adds density to the neighborhood without disruption. 3 stories is not appropriate here, but 2 can be done well within existing R-2 form and intensity standards. Our neighborhood is almost entirely 1 story modest homes. If you allow developers to build a 45 foot tall structure, 5 feet from a property line, with 8 units, you will destroy a community. And don’t tell me about the standards working together in the new zoning! You need to look at this from a developers’ perspective, which is: “What can we get away with?” If you give them the ability to do something, or an escape clause to chop down trees they will do it! You will knock out the production of solar electric systems, which is counter to the city’s climate action goals. Please do a better job of letting the public know about how many options there currently are in R-1 and R-2 to densify! 3 stories is just too tall here! Many homeowners have added apartments, or built ADU’s to help pay their mortgages. This is adding density to the neighborhood in a tasteful and well managed way. 611 with ADU The existing form and intensity standards in R-2 zoning allow for us to create infill that doesn’t disrupt the community we’ve built here. Homeowners are improving the neighborhood while adding density in a gentle or invisible manner. If you allow 3 story, 8 unit apartment buildings to take over our neighborhood you may usher in a return to the days of rental apathy. But more concerning, and probably more likely, is that existing more affordable rentals will be replaced by luxury housing for part time tourists. Residents will be displaced. Both renters and owners. Imposing the new draft of the UDC will create conditions for a land grab by developers. A home in our neighborhood will no longer be seen for what it is, a nice place to live and raise a family, or a great place to live while going to college. It will be seen for the amount of money it can make a developer if it’s built out to the max. Neighborhoods are social infrastructure, and the new UDC will damage what we've built here. 507 S 14th Basement Apartment Before After with added basement apartment First time homeowners who both work in Bozeman bought this home, renovated it, and added a basement apartment that is currently rented to a nanny who also works in the neighborhood. This couple bought in our neighborhood because they want their kids to go to Irving school. This is an example of adding density to our neighborhood in an invisible way within the existing code. Rather than creating conditions for more luxury housing how about implementing something like the Big Sky Housing Trusts rent local program? Residents can continue to improve our neighborhoods while adding density within the existing form and intensity standards and we can continue to have residents, not absentee 2nd, 3rd, or 4th homeowners.