HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-06-24 Public Comment - S. Vidmar - Protest to Harper's Corner Annexation, App 23127 nr, ,dr 0S-*ZA Shannon Vidmar 2210 Watts Lane Bozeman,MT 59718 May 1, 2024 Bozeman City Commission 121 North Rouse Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 Dear City Commissioners: I, Shannon M.Vidmar am the owner and joint tenant in common with my husband Greg Vidmar,with right of survivorship of the residential home located at 2210 Watts Lane, Bozeman, MT. We have lived in this house for 22 years and I am a fifth generation Montanan. Our property is in direct view and with-in 100 feet of the proposed Harper's Corner Annexation, Application 23127. I protest and am opposed to this application for R4 zoning for reasons outlined in the letter you received from Erin Arnold and the fact that Mr. Knokey did not follow your recommendation to taper his proposed project. At the January 23rd city commission meeting Mr. Knokey's application for R4 zoning was denied and at the commissioners'suggestion,the developers and adjacent property owners met. Our concerns were voiced to Mr. Knokey and Drew Russell. Mr. Knokey told the group we had to trust him but they were still applying for R4 and that if we protested the application they may have to sell the property to another buyer who would not be as willing to work with us as Mr. Knokey was. Following the meeting, Mr. Knokey sent us a written summary of the meeting along with his"intentions"for the development.We reiterated our concerns and that we wanted something in writing that would stay with the property in the event the property was sold. Mr. Knokey told us that it was not possible because the zoning of the property would supersede any written agreement. At this point we sought legal council, which confirmed our suggested agreement was indeed possible. This confirmation letter was emailed to Mr. Knokey. In a phone conversation, Mr. Knokey acknowledged he knew the written agreement was possible all along but wanted nothing to do with it. He once again said he was applying for R4 and that if we protested his application he was not willing to work with us in the next stages of the process. I believe Mr. Knokey went through the motions of meeting with us (landowners) only to appease you as commissioners so he could say he did what you asked. Our objective as landowners was to find a compromise and come to an agreement. We compromised multiple times trying to give Mr. Knokey something he would accept. In fact,we would have agreed to having the majority of the property zoned R4 if Mr. Knokey was willing to write an agreement(that went with the property) to have a larger setback on the West side of the property along with lower