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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-26-24 Public Comment - S. Hamilton - Site Plan#22047From:Sue Hamilton To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Site Plan#22047 Date:Sunday, February 25, 2024 8:16:42 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: Marilyn Hamilton 155 Franklin Hills Drive, Bozeman, MT 59715 I am writing to express my concern over the recent approval of 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. Bozeman is growing at an alarming rate to anticipate and serve the population coming to work and serve this community. This is a time when our city leaders and planners need to be listening more closely to the needs of our existing residents. For 25 years, the City has enforced the Sundance Springs 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's Office claims, without access to the PUD's Approved Final Plan, that they know 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 were 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 at the remainder of the public record assuming it is factual and correct, in order to understand what the missing documents required. Instead, in the face of the uncertainty associated with the loss of the Approved Final Plan, the City has overturned its long-standing position on the Sundance Springs PUD. For 25 years, while the Approved Final Plan existed, the City enforced the Sundance Springs PUD Master Plan and Covenants & Development Guidelines as binding requirements under the Unified Development Code. Now that the Approved Final Plan is missing, the City has reversed its long-held position and claims that the surviving elements of the Master Plan map are simply a "concept sketch" and that Covenants & Development Guidelines are "private agreements" that need not be enforced. Enough is enough. It's time to start enforcing the code -- with the City calling the shots, not the developers. 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 with the Unified Development Code. In this case, the Site Plan only reached approval because the developer and the City are ignoring the requirements of the PUD and failing to consider important review criteria that must be met before a departure from the Unified Development Code can be granted. There has been a lot of talk, lately, about the need for the city government to rebuild trust with the residents of this City. Trust is built when the parties do what they say they will do. Overturning an errant decision of the Director of Community Development seems like a good place to start rebuilding trust. Under the unified development code, the City has all of the authority it needs to protect open spaces, public trails and neighborhoods, and to promote public safety while still allowing development that is consistent with our shared vision for Bozeman as a vibrant and livable city. I am asking you to make the decision to reassert your authority over the management of growth in Bozeman. You can begin that process today by overturning the approval of Site Plan #22047. Marilyn Hamilton