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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-23 Public Comment - K. Bark - Vote against the UDC (Unified Development Code)From:Katie Bark To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Vote against the UDC (Unified Development Code) Date:Monday, October 9, 2023 7:23:21 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. To: Community Development Board and City Commission Email: agenda@bozeman.net From Gerry and Katie Bark, 524 South 5th Avenue, Bozeman Date: 10/9/2023 RE: Unified Development Code (UDC) Changes Dear Board members, Thank you for your service to our community. We appreciate your time and involvement in our maintaining our vibrant community into the future. As 31-year residents and homeowners in Bozeman, we are very concerned about the proposed zoning changes in the Unified Development Code that will create a R-A zone which includes R-1, R-2, and R-3. We strongly urge you to not pass the R-A zone and maintain the R- 1 and R-2 zoning in residential areas. While we agree that Bozeman needs to address the affordable housing crisis, we don’t feel this is a solution to this issue. Additionally, we feel that these proposed changes are a serious safety concern to the residents in our neighborhoods. We own two homes which are being affected by these changes. We have resided on South 5th Avenue since 2008 (15 years) and have the other house as a long-term (one year lease) rental property. The quaint residential neighborhood is what attracted us to purchase these homes and our first bungalow home on South Willson Avenue in 1993. We are very concerned that if the changes to the code occur, our neighborhood charm will be affected which will have a direct impact on our home values. We have worked hard to own our homes and rely on their resale value for our retirement income. We have enjoyed living in a diverse residential neighborhood made up of families in single family homes, students renting homes, single adults, and seniors who live in either a single- family home or a home with an ADU; duplex, or a few 2–4-bedroom apartments, which are all limited to 1-2 stories. Our neighborhood is in very close proximity of MSU and includes streets that have restricted parking availability. However, with the growth of MSU and more traffic from the higher student population driving in our neighborhood, it has become more dangerous. This is especially true in the wintertime when the streets may not be plowed for days after a snowstorm and with the buildup of snow around cars that are parked on the streets. Often, there is only room for one lane of traffic to proceed on our streets. Additionally, with the many uncontrolled intersections around our current home (corner of South 5th and Dickerson), we have witnessed numerous accidents in the neighborhood and even have had one of our cars totaled because of people not knowing who has the right-away. We feel that if the city code changes to R-A (up to 8 units on a lot), our streets will become even more dangerous due to the additional impact from additional traffic and more cars parked on the streets. Public safety should be a real concern when considering these zoning changes. The current road infrastructure in our neighborhoods doesn’t allow for higher density population. It can barely support the current capacity with R 1 and R2 zoning. Will parents feel safe walking their children to school? We are also concerned with the potential impact from more people living in our neighborhoods and the effect on the road’s sewer pipes that are already at their maximum due to their age. The city has been in contact with residents about the age of the pipes and the potential failure of them at their current capacity. How can they sustain the additional impact from more residents living in this area under these code changes? These issues are real concerns for residents and our city leadership, and solutions to them need to be considered along with these proposed zoning changes. Therefore, we ask you as Board members and City Commission members to take time to hear from Bozeman citizens in this process so we can come up with viable solutions to these issues and affordable housing while maintaining the historic neighborhood’s charm that Bozeman is known for. We appreciate the effort that the City leadership is taking to respond to the new legislation that is requiring changes to zoning codes, but with the 3-5 year implementation timeline, we ask you to give this process some time and not rush into passing extreme changes. Finally, with current home values ranging in the $500,000 to over $1,000,000 for most homes in the historic district, we really can’t understand how these proposed zoning changes would realistically initiate the opportunity for a developer to create affordable housing units in this area. How at the current market values with the existing high interest rates would a builder be able to purchase and demolish a home, build the bigger complex and then offer it at an affordable price to future owners? We should not expect this unrealistic goal while at the same time sacrificing the current charm of our lovely residential neighborhoods. Since these code changes are in response to the need for affordable housing, we would like to offer a few ideas for addressing this issue: 1) The previous lot where K-Mart has been vacant ever since K-Mart went out of business. Could this location be considered for a future location of a high-rise low- income apartment building? It should have access to electricity, water, and city services since it was the home of a former business for years. This location is ideal as it is located to an affordable grocery store (Wal-Mart), the new HRDC complex which will house the Food Bank and is on the bus route and is centrally located. 2) Affordable housing has often been associated with mobile homes or trailer parks. There is a lot east of Walmart that is vacant and could the city look at purchasing this lot that could be a future mobile home park and help offer affordable housing opportunities. 3) We understand that currently there is an excess of rental units in town due to all the development that has been occurring. Can the city work with the owners of the rental units in a cooperative agreement to offer affordable housing and help owners increase their occupancy rate? We appreciate the opportunity to provide our comments and your consideration of them. Gerry and Katie Bark 524 South 5th Avenue Bozeman, MT 59715