HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-05-23 Public Comment - C. Larsen - Baxter 80 Annexation and Zone Map AmendmentFrom:cheri larsen
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Baxter 80 Annexation and Zone Map Amendment
Date:Saturday, February 3, 2024 6:11:08 AM
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ATTN: Tom Rogers
RE: Baxter 80 Annexation and Zone Map Amendment – Application 23208 by the Community
Dear Community Development Board,
I oppose the zoning designation of R4 – High Density and R5 – High Density Mixed Use for the following
compelling reasons:
(1) The Bozeman 2020 Community Plan asserts that “the needs of new and existing development coexist and they
should remain in balance, neither should overwhelm the other (Bozeman 2020 Community Plan, p. 20)
• Although we have pockets of R4 high density in our neighborhoods, the apartment complexes are smaller and
limited to two stories with setbacks that blend in well with more medium to moderate zoned areas.
• An abrupt transition to R-4 (Residential High Density) and R-5 (Residential High-Density - Mixed) would
threaten to overwhelm our more medium to moderate density neighborhood areas and would create an imbalance
between the two-story character of our residences and the potential three to four story dwellings with out of place
commercial businesses mixed in.
• We bought our homes knowing there would be no commercial businesses nearby in well-established residential
neighborhoods. Businesses do not always make the best neighbors and there are valid and legitimate reasons for
separating them from residential areas. Today’s coffee shop can become tomorrow’s pawn shop.
(2) According to the Bozeman 2020 Community Plan under the City Responsibility section, it states that: “the
City’s primary function is to provide a safe, healthy, and high-quality environment….. The way a community is
shaped through………green spaces can contribute to the well-being of residents” (Bozeman 2020 Community Plan,
p. 21).
• The property contains significant wetlands that spread out from Baxter, Ajacker, and McDonald Creeks and
should be protected to support our well-being with green space in the form of parks along the wetlands for current
and future residents to enjoy.
• The R4 and R5 designations could negatively impact the wetlands and shrink the opportunity to establish parks
along them.
• If a high-density development is added there without parks and protection of the wetlands, many of those
residents will seek out our parks and green spaces that we pay to maintain.
Thank you for taking the time to carefully consider these compelling reasons for rejecting this zoning proposal and
the potential for it to adversely impact our well-established residential neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Cheri Larsen