HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-24 Public Comment - K. Sanchez - The Guthrie (application #23354) - An OpportunityFrom:karen bucklin sanchez
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:karen bucklin sanchez
Subject:[EXTERNAL]The Guthrie (application #23354) - An Opportunity
Date:Sunday, March 31, 2024 1:23:38 PM
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Dear Mayor Cunningham, Deputy Mayor Morrison, and Commissioners,
I am writing regarding Homebase Partner's latest development, The Guthrie (application
#23354), on the corner of North 5th Avenue and Villard Street.
I urge you to remove this project from administrative review for two policy reasons:
1) This development is a litmus test. Homebase Partners is apparently pursuing purchase of
the church across the street from the Guthrie site (and probably not for parking!). The Guthrie
will likely be duplicated on the south east corner of 5th and Villard creating a cascading impact.
The Guthrie is a precedent and cannot be backtracked. Once the Community Development
Director checks the box on the Guthrie, they will be compelled to approve subsequent
developments that are identical.
2) The Bozeman City Commission needs to reclaim the trust of Bozeman citizens. Mayor
Cuningham: I appreciated that you emphasized, in your state of the city addresses, the need
for improved communication. You invited citizen participation, and state that you value input
and discussion. Please allow direct communication from citizens regarding this strawman
development.
Beyond public policy, here are some specific concerns about this project:
This is not “affordable housing”. Ask HRDC. I live on North 5th Ave. Our neighborhood has lots
of subsidized public housing; an aspect I love about living in this part of Bozeman. The Guthrie
(and coming soon “Guthrie II”) is not (will not be) affordable to our fellow Bozemanites who
are working two or three jobs and still not coming in at the $67k/yr “affordability” bar. The
rents in this proposal need to be revamped to be affordable for people who make less than
$67,000.
Size, density and character. This is an “extended stay hotel” model. How is this short-term
rental prototype a solution to our housing crisis? Bozeman needs affordable housing with
square footage reasonable for long term housing. We need housing that is affordable for the
City of Bozeman’s water, streets and engineering staff! These dorm rooms with (according to
Homebase Partners) 30-day leases do not suffice. It appears these micro-units could house up
to 4 people. This will quadruple the impact of the transitory nature of these rentals. Bottom
line: This project is not a fit to the neighborhood. It needs to be scaled back in number of units
and scaled up in the size of the units to accommodate working families.
Safety. North 5th is a designated bike route and is a walking / accessible neighborhood. Kids
walk to the high school and grade school, and bike to school and the BMX park. This is a
morning and afternoon bike commuting route. Many of the residents at Darlington Manor
walk and roll on 5th. Tourists use 5th to walk from the N 7th motels to downtown. As traffic
has increased on Peach Street, many cars now peel out of the traffic light line onto North 5th
at high speeds. We need a traffic circle on the corner of 5th and Villard asap.
Parking. The traffic plan provided by Homebase Partners neglected to mention Whittier School
and The Elm. During the daytime, parents are dropping off and picking up kids. At night, the
Elm patrons park here. There is often not enough street parking now. Many of the homes in
our neighborhood have two families living in them (basements and ADUs’). How will we
accommodate Guthrie's 200 more cars with street parking? How will this impact the City's
snow removal on North 5th and around Whittier School?
Traffic congestion and safety during construction and into the future. Have you checked out
the parking and traffic situation that Homebase Partners has caused by its other north side
high rises? My husband narrowly avoided being hit by a concrete truck that ran a stop sign on
Villard.
Pollution. During construction asbestos/lead and dust abatement did not appear to be
enforced on Homebase Partners’ other demolition and construction endeavors in this part of
town. Generators have run all night. What about long term noise and light pollution?
Green space. Homebase Partners has cut down trees and not replaced any for its other
developments and has the same plan here. The Guthrie planning docs counts a laundry room
as “open space”. Seriously.
Infrastructure impacts. Consider the impact of up to 4 people living in each unit. The “paid in
lieu of” loophole applied to the drinking water aspect of this development is unacceptable.
What consideration have we received from Homebase Partners for impacts to our wastewater
treatment plant? What about solid waste? How about the impact of the heavy construction to
our streets?
Mayor Cunningham and Commissioners: This is a critical moment. It is essential that we, the
City of Bozeman, get this right. The Guthrie creates a precedent for developers to use the
incentives. Please reclaim the role of final review authority on this application. Please do not
leave this decision to the sole discretion of our Community Development Director.
We can do this. We are in the driver’s seat. We CAN require developers to construct truly
affordable long-term housing in exchange for "deep incentives”. The purpose of the deep
incentives is to strengthen Bozeman. It should not be for the developer’s sole benefit. We
have an opportunity!
Sincerely,
--
Karen Bucklin Sanchez
--
Karen Bucklin Sanchez