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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-12-23 Public Comment - P. McGown - Zoning and UpzoningFrom:Patty McGown To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Zoning and Upzoning Date:Thursday, October 12, 2023 4:50:46 PM Attachments:Screen Shot 2023-10-12 at 8.54.55 AM.png 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. Greetings City Staff and Board Members; October 12, 2023 Thank you for all your hard work and time that you dedicate to making Bozeman the best place to live. For the record I am FOR/PRO affordable housing and against development for the wealthy. This letter is in response to the proposed zoning changes. I am imploring you all, to please,slow down. I agree that changes are needed in the zoning. However, the current universal zoning change being proposed is NOT for Bozeman. Please put the brakes on and makechanges that are the least detrimental for the people who live in Bozeman and the people who work here and cannot afford to live in Bozeman. On behalf of myself and my family, Iimplore you to consider my points. Proposed zoning changes and up zoning requests. Do not adopt the UDC zoning changes as they are currently written. They are not right forBozeman. One glaring error is it appears the proposed UDC gives carte’ blanche freedom to developers to infill and for a Bozemanite, this is shocking and frightening and will notsolve the affordable housing issues plaguing Gallatin Valley. Zoning needs to reflect improving life for the members of the community. One of these parcels proposed for upzoning actually borders my residence at 222 S 13th!This building will obliterate my view of the Bridgers, what I bought my house for and what I pay my property taxes to maintain. It is the 1216 W Babcock address. The developer wantsto upzone to R-C. I have attached the graphic from the last meeting to show what Intrinsic is proposing for the owner/developers of the property, and what a universal “R-C” will giveto developers: Based on this inaccurate graphic, the owners/developers have lost my trust. I am absolutely against this 5-story building being proposed for up-zoning to be built on the two acres currently used as a construction fill. The graphic is inaccurate/incorrect in how it depicts the location of the streets at the parcel. And as mentioned above, thisproperty borders my property. The image is misleading in that there is not currently a four-way crossing at the corner of 1216 W Babcock. This is a slap in the face for all involved, that an inaccurate drawing would be submitted to the city. I am a property tax paying member of the neighborhood, have not ever been delinquent, and seen my taxes go from approx. $500 when I purchased my home in December, 2001, to over $5,000 in 2023 (a whopping 900% increase). Therefore, I am a stakeholder here, and have a right to say “no” to this development, just like the developer has a right to try to get it passed. Directly to the west of this property, there is a trailer park and to the west of that, there is a four-building complex, each building is a four-plex; to the east is the Chequamegon retirement community made up of single-story duplexes for people over 55 years old. Please come and drive around this area and see for yourselves. This proposed 5 story building does not fit in or belong at 1216 W Babcock. How do I know? Just west of 1216 W Babcock, there are a couple massive new 4 and 5 story buildings that are completely out of place and have changed the character of the area forever. This change impacts locals' lives forever! Unfortunately, over the past few years, the owners/developers, have been dumping dirty construction fill on the property with massive chunks of broken up concrete. Fast forward to now and the owners/developers are proposing, through Intrinsic architecture/development (who know how to get developments approved thru the city) to build a massive building that all but destroys the current area as it is. Please slow down! I DO think that this parcel is usable for denser housing. Bozeman does NOT need another 5-story apartment complex for the wealthy weekenders. What those 2 acres need are a development like the one to the west, four- 2 story -four apartments per building development. I implore you to require any development at 1216 W Babcock to match the two story 4-4plexes to the west and one story Chequamegon (over 55years old) duplexes to the east and not destroy the character and housing density of the neighborhood with a 5 story building. The attached drawing above shows a 4-way intersection, with two roads around the proposed development property. There is ‘no, none, zero’ four-way intersection at 1216 W Babcock. It is hard to take this proposal at face value as it looks, as it is not accurate. It feels more like a slap in the face!! Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and for taking it seriously. If you want to call me, my phone number is 406-600-1349. I look forward to discussing this with you! Thanks again! Standing by, Patty McGown 222 S 13th Ave Bozeman, MT 59715