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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-20-24 Public Comment - R. Dorn - Sundance Spring SubdivisionFrom:Dallas Delhousaye To:Agenda Cc:Rick Dorn Subject:[EXTERNAL]Sundance Spring Subdivision Date:Monday, February 19, 2024 4:22:11 PM 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: Bozeman City Commission City of Bozeman From: Rick Dorn 3754 Ellis View Loop Bozeman, Montana 59715 I am writing to express my concern over the recent approval Site Plan #22047 in the Sundance Spring Subdivision. The Director of Community Development erred in approving the plan. The City has the obligation and authority to protect our open spaces, our trail systems, and our neighborhoods from incompatible development. For 25 years, the City has enforced the The Sundance Spring PUD, which provides strong protection for the public open spaces that were incorporated into the subdivision. Now, that the formal record of the PUD's requirements is missing, suddenly, the City Attorney and Community Development Director are redefining the terms of the PUD by hand- selecting limited pieces of the public record (namely, just the Commission's Conditions of Approval for the PUD's preliminary application) to represent the terms of the PUD. Other evidence of the PUD's requirements in the public record are being ignored. The City Attorney claims, without access to the approved final plan, that he knows the terms of the PUD better than experienced planners who actually reviewed the PUD's Approved Final Plan when they made their determinations. Case and point is the 2020 Concept Review for the Site Plan in question. In 2020, when the Approved Final Plans was available to consult, the City Planner concluded that the PUD's Master Plan implemented the B-1 District from the 1992 zoning ordinance. Now that the Approved Final Plan is missing, the City Attorney claims, without evidence, that the planner was in error, and the City attorney states that the historical zoning does not apply. When authoritative documents go missing, it is customary to look to the remainder of the public record assuming it is factual and correct, in order understand what the missing documents required. Instead, in the face of the the uncertainty associated with the loss of the Approved Final Plan, the City has overturned it's long-standing position on the Sundance Springs PUD. For 25 years, while the Approved Final Plan existed, the City has enforced the Sundance Springs PUD Master Plan and Covenants & Development Guidelines. And now that the Approved Final Plan is missing, the City has reversed its long-held position and claims that the surviving Master Plan map is a "concept Sketch" and that Covenants & Development Guidelines are "private agreements" that need not be enforced. Bozeman now feels like a lawless wild west of development, where developers push the City relentlessly to ignore the purpose and intent of the Unified Development Code and insist that Staff take a reductionist approach to interpreting the code. Enough is enough. It's time the start enforcing the code -- with the City, not the developers, calling the shots. It's time to put necessary teeth back in enforcement to ensure that developments like Site Plan #22047 don't get approved until they are fully compliant the the Unified Development Code. In this case, the Site Plan only reached approval via the obfuscation of the requirements of the PUD and failing to consider important review criteria that must be met before a departure can be granted. There has been a lot of talk, lately, about the need for City Government to rebuild trust with the residents of this City. Overturning an errant decision of the Director of Community Development seems like a good place to start. Trust is built when government does what it said it will do. 25 years ago, the City Commission approved the Sundance Spring PUD, and in doing so, provided assurances that the Master Plan and Covenants & Development Guidelines would be enforced. For 25 years, the City has followed up on that commitment with strong enforcement. Why is the city reversing course now that the Approved Final Plan is lost. The City has all of the authority is needs to protect open spaces, public trails and neighborhoods, promote public safety, and enforce both the letter and the intent of the Unified Development Code. I am asking you to make the decision to reassert your authority over the development chaos that grips this City. You can begin that process today by overturning the approval of Site Plan #22047.