HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-30-24 Public Comment - J. Kaiser - Attn_ Baily Minnich - Application 23245 - Public CommentFrom:John Kaiser
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Attn: Baily Minnich - Application 23245 - Public Comment
Date:Thursday, April 25, 2024 10:07:32 PM
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Hello Ms. Minnich,
My name is John Kaiser and I am the owner of the building and resident at 210 N 9th Ave. Apt
2. in Bozeman, MT, 59715 I am writing in regards to development application 23245 at 811 W
Mendenhall, just a block from my home.
I am asking for myself and on behalf of my fellow residents in this area that this project be
stopped / altered to avoid the negative impact it will have on our neighborhood. I foresee the
following challenges if this project is allowed to proceed without intervention from city
officials or the development office.
1. Parking
The plans fail to have sufficient parking for the residents of that building. Despite
the efforts of the Streamline transportation service, you cannot live in this town
without a car. And you certainly would not be rending one of these new
apartments without one. The idea that a building could make it this far in the
process without adequate parking to accommodate all residents demonstrates a
lack in common sense and preferential treatment for a developer that is only
interested in increasing the number of doors they can rent.
Where do you suppose these residents, who will have cars, are going to park? I am
a few short blocks away from the building and, per my code, I need 1 space for
every 1 bedroom unit and 2 spaces for every two bedroom. If that standard were
applied to this building, they would need 95 parking spaces if all the units were 1
bedroom. I have to imagine they will have some 2 and 3 bedroom units which will
drive this number up.
What will happen - those individuals who live in that building will begin parking on
the surrounding streets. Where there are already cars, that will push them further
towards my house and eventually plug up my street and the parking that is
currently generally accessible in front of my house.
This is an obvious issue with these plans that needs to be addressed. Again - you
cannot live in Bozeman and enjoy all the things this part of the country has to offer
without a car. Building developments that assume otherwise is plain ignorant of
reality. The cars have to be parked somewhere and I'd rather it not push them into
my front yard.
They need to accommodate for excess parking in these plans – with community
spaces. This would be a great way to get MORE parking in Bozeman as the
downtown and mid-town areas are build up. Have the developers include
community parking spaces in all downtown and mid-town developments. This is
not uncommon in actual urban areas and should be a baseline expectation in
Bozeman.
Exhibit 1: Excerpt From the Summary documents:
B| BUILDING QUALITY
1. Sustainable methods and techniques shall be applied to building
design but also integrated with site layout and infrastructure
design: With a density of approximately 120 units per acre, and its
adjacency to the Midtown District, the proposed design allows for the
residence to live in the “Community Core,” which reduces the need and
use for cars in the area.
a. Comments: The above statement is completely false. Bozeman is not an urban
metropolis. People do not move here to take public transit or walk 'downtown'.
People in this town have cars so they can access the surrounding area and do
things out in nature. We are not an urban center and we will never be. Our
development code and living standards should not have guidance or breaks for
developers in the area of cars and parking. You need a car to live here fully – why
would we build infrastructure that discourages or does not enable that to
happen.
Exhibit 2: Excerpt From the Summary documents:
E| PARKING FACILITIES
1. Enclosed parking, integrated into individual new buildings, is preferred
whenever possible to surface parking lots: 811 West Mendenhall is planning to
house 70 cars in an enclosed basement parking garage to help meet the
required amount of parking stalls required in the B-2M & R-5 zoned districts.
With each residential unit having the required 1 stall per unit in the parking
garage,
there is also 9 additional on-street parking spaces.
a. Comments: The above statement is false and misleading. The development
documents state that they will have 95 units, not 70 - so they are short 25
dedicated parking spaces!! This assumes that all units are one-bedroom or studio
apartments, which is not the case. There is a gross underestimation of parking
needs here that will impact the surrounding community – you have to park
resident cars somewhere – where do you suppose they will go?
2. Slum-standard living quarters
These plans call for New-York style studio apartments that I would consider sub-
standard options for healthy living. The community would be better served by 2-3
bedroom units that would allow for roommates to split costs and/or families to
reside in the units. More units also equals more waste – multiplier on appliances
and materials for commonly used areas of the units.
The only interest being met here is that of the developer and their desire to have
more doors to make more money. This is not about affordable housing - but it is
good cover. Bozeman is also not New York city!
The planned sub-standard living quarters in this building do not belong in
Bozeman, let alone two blocks from my home and the very residential area that we
live in.
I am concerned with the type of people this will draw to our communities and,
more specifically, my neighborhood. I'm not interested in living near a slum lord's
building that is optimized for his or her rents and not for the surrounding
community.
I urge you to please stop this project and have it redone to better meet the needs of not only
the people who will live there, and who we want in our communities, but also out of respect
for the surrounding RESIDENTIAL neighborhood.
Please let me know if you have any questions or follow ups for me. I appreciate your
consideration and hope this message is one of many and makes a difference.
Best,
John Kaiser
210 N. 9th Ave, Apt. 2
Bozeman, MT 59715
630-849-6878