HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-26-23 Public Comment - G. Schontzler - Commission vacancyFrom:Keith McCafferty & Gail Schontzler
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Commission vacancy
Date:Sunday, November 26, 2023 10:29:07 PM
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To Mayor Andrus and City Commissioners,
When you vote to fill the commission vacancy Tuesday, please listen to the results of theNovember election. Voters sent a clear message rejecting the commission’s current direction.
While some voters no doubt were upset by the commission’s urban camping decision, I thinkmost of the backlash came from people who fear the proposed zoning code revision would
destroy Bozeman’s historic neighborhoods.
I urge you to appoint to the vacancy Angie Kociolek, a former Peace Corps volunteer
who has served on the city parks, recreation and forestry board and worked to protect oururban forest and natural resources. Thoughtful and committed to Bozeman, Angie has gained
the support of people who, like me, want to protect the older neighborhoods from the radicalupzoning plan.
John Meyer, who came in a strong second in the mayoral election, ran on a platformthat called for scrapping the zone code revision entirely and starting over. He would also be a
welcome, though likely a more controversial, choice.
I ask you to reject two candidates -- Mark Egge and Jason Delmue -- who would no
doubt plow ahead with the rezoning plan that many voters rejected in the mayoral election.Choosing either one would be a slap in the face to voters and create an atmosphere of mistrust
and hostility between many citizens and the commission.
Egge sincerely believes the zoning plan would create more affordable housing, the “missing
middle” that he talked about in a recent Pecha Kucha talk. But I believe he’s absolutely wrong.Upzoning our historic neighborhoods to allow 8-plexes on every lot would give developers the
green light to build more condos (now selling for $500,000 to $1 million), to rip out morebeautiful old trees, and to change the character of our neighborhoods.
Egge said publicly that while he wrote his missing middle report for a Libertarian group, he isnot a Libertarian. But I believe upzoning would strip my neighborhood of its R-2 protections,
unleash free-market forces and boost developers aiming to make a killing, at the expense ofpeople like me who love their hometown.
Developers are already in a land rush in Bozeman, from the Black Olive development to thelatest “luxury” plan on the west end of downtown, a far-from-affordable project to which the
city has approved an astonishing $7 million in TIF funding.
Please do not even consider appointing developer Jason Delmue, who has already torn down
old houses and replaced them with modernist buildings that are likely far more expensive. I’malso alarmed to find that Delmue was an attorney in the Art Wittich law firm a few years ago
when Wittich, a right-wing politician, was fined more than $60,000 for taking dark money
from a Right to Work organization. I find it hard to believe that Delmue would be a good fit torepresent the citizens of Bozeman.
So please consider choosing Angie or John, rather than Mark or Jason, as the best candidatesto fill the vacancy and represent Bozeman voters.
Sincerely,
Gail Schontzler
1115 S. Grand Ave.
Bozeman, MT 59715