HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-26-24 Public Comment - P. McGown - ..slow down, you move too fast...gotta make the city last...From:Patty McGown
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]...slow down, you move too fast...gotta make the city last...
Date:Thursday, January 25, 2024 9:45:52 AM
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Deart City Commissioners,
My name is Patty McGown and I own my home at 222 S. 13th Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715.
As a property tax and city assessment taxpayer, and voting resident, I am writing to requestthat you implement the following priorities for the next two years:
1. Improve the Unified Development Code by including residents in effective engagement
practices that bring the true thoughts of the people who elected you, to the discussion table.
"Upzoning is not the progressive policy tool it has been sold to be. It mainly leads to buildinghigh end housing in desirable locations." Michael Stroper
Upzoning has been proven (in Texas, North Carolina, and other states across the USA) to lead
to massive land grabs by developers and the wealthy. I am not opposed to wealth ordevelopers. I am opposed to upzoning in Bozeman.
Offer residents workshops for the city commissioners and city manager to listen to residents
and to understand residents' priorities and to answer questions and clarify the UDC process.
Invite all Bozeman residents through direct mailing. We all get our property tax and cityassessment bills, use the same address list for a direct mailing.
Be willing to re-write the UDC to align the priorities of Bozeman residents over those ofdevelopers.
Create a UDC that has broad public support and buy-in of residents.
2. Commit to strengthening and enforcing Historic Preservation Regulations that help keep
Bozeman the fantastic place that it is today. Preserve existing housing and neighborhoodcharacter. Remodeling, rather than tearing down and rebuilding, will help maintain the
character of existing neighborhoods and Urban forests, also preventing 100's of tons ofmaterial being sent to the landfill. Climate change is real. The Neighborhood Conservation
Overlay District is in place,and was developed for a reason: to protect theneighborhood character currently present in most of Bozeman (with the exception of where all
the new large behemoth buildings have been allowed to be built with NO setbacks or greenspace etc.) Please give back the judiciary powers that have been stripped from the Historic
Preservation Advisory Board to review projects within historic districts.
3. Start a Municipal Housing Program NOW. Don;t wait another day to address housingavailability. While the median income may be in the $80,000 range, most Bozeman folks are
working jobs making below $50,000. Bozeman needs cheap housing!!! The curernt UDC willprovide luxury housing, not cheap housing. This Municipal Housing Program needs to be
addressed by the city commission and city manager now. Please, do not sell out to developers
4. Preserve our limited Water Resources Capturing water may not be enough to sustain theout-of-control development happening right now in the Gallatin Valley. Limiting development
is necessary to create time to determine best practices. Some things that can happenimmediately include
A. adopting mandatory regulations for water conservation (not optional incentives)
B. Move the timeline up to 2025 rather than 2033 for Mandatory Water Efficiency Offsets.There is not enough water to take 10 years to phase this in.
C. Protect urban forests and fine developers who cut down trees without permission (examplestory Mill Road where no fines were enforced for the old growth Cottonwoods that were cut
down).D. Include Sensitive Lands Plans into the UDC now as they are being discussed by residents.
E. Protect the solar energy investments that residents have already made with a solarprotection ordinance. Climate change is real and it is happening now, not in the future. More
residents will invest in solar energy generation if the investment is protected from shading byfuture up-zoning development.
Finally, on a more personal note, there are two, 2 acre parcels that border my property at 222 S
13th. One parcel is currently a trailer park and one parcel is filling up with construction debris.The construction debris 2 acres has already requested up-zoning thru Intrinsic. PLEASE GO
LOOK AT THIS AREA BEFORE APPROVING A 5 STORY BUILDING ON THIS TWOACRES. On the east side is the Chequamegon (pronounced Shwa-me-gan) is the 55+
community consisting of duplexes. Affordable housing!!!
And to the west is the trailer park as I mentioned and to the west of the trailer park are 5buildings, each building is a fourplex, only 2 stories tall. Also somewhat affordable rentals.
Please when discussing these two, 2 acre parcels (as both owners have made their intention to
develop clear), please consider the existing Jandt Neighborhood Association housing styles,and the developments next to these parcels.
Thank you for your time reading this.
SincerelyPatty McGown
222 S. 13th AveBozeman, MT 59715