HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-09-24 Public Comment - G. Delin - Guthrie ProjectFrom:jmdelin@bresnan.net
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Guthrie Project
Date:Monday, July 8, 2024 1:10:06 PM
Attachments:Guthrie Project.docx
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Please see the attached letter regarding the Guthrie Proposal
Thank youGary Delin
Gary and Jeanne Delin
407 N 5th Ave
Bozeman, MT. 59715
July 8, 2024
Bozeman City Commission,
Bozeman is one of the fastest growing towns in the country. It has been a beautiful, clean,
relatively low crime, family friendly town, with very nice residential neighborhoods that are
great places to live.
The proposed Guthrie Project would be a mammoth building, crammed into a nice family
neighborhood, right across the street from a church, and a block away from an elementary
school. It will not be a family environment with very small apartments, which some being short
term rentals for as little as 30 days. This five-story building, with 111 units, comes with only 35
parking spaces, for potentially 250 or more tenants. Parking will be a nightmare for many, many
blocks in every direction.
The Guthrie is being built, per Mr. Holloran, #1 as a dormitory for staff of Homebased Partners,
and other high-rise hotels and condos a short distance away, for staff that need housing.
Currently, there are hundreds and hundreds of apartments either under construction, or
planned for in the near future in an eight- block square area of Mid-town.
Thousands of apartments are going up all over Bozeman, including the out skirts of town,
known as “the sprawl areas”. The “sprawl” is eating up more and more farm land and open
spaces. Mr. Holleron, of Homebased Partners, declared himself the Savior of Bozeman, when
he came to Bozeman, with his high-rise infill philosophy, that he would slow down sprawl by
cramming in infill. Go any direction out of Bozeman and you will see glaring examples of sprawl.
One of the biggest examples of sprawl is Homebases development on the corner of Story Mill
Rd and Bridger Drive. They have taken this large area from a few houses and open spaces to
what will be a dense intercity feel with crowded housing, high rise apartment buildings and
commercial buildings right at the entrance to one of Gallatin Valley’s most beautiful areas,
Bridger Canyon.
Mr. Holleron praises the Streamline Transit System, as he should. This free transportation
system goes all over the Bozeman area. This transit system can take the Homebase employees
to and from hotels and condos downtown to any place in Bozeman.
I plead with the City Commission to deny this very poorly planned “dormitory” in the middle of
this wonderful neighborhood. I also plead with the City Commission to think long and hard
about eliminating the “Deep Incentive” from the Affordable Housing Ordinance. This is a
developers dream and a family neighborhoods biggest nightmare.
What I would really like to see is the City Commission invoke a deep, deep incentive for
someone to build a rest home or Senior Care Center. This is a bigger need than so called
affordable housing in Bozeman right now. If the Guthrie is approved, it will be the second
Senior Care center location to disappear, thanks to Homebased Partners.
The reason’s so many are wanting to move to Bozeman should be obvious. It is one of the most
beautiful valleys on earth, for now. It still has a home town feel with quiet family
neighborhoods, for now. Please do not allow what we have had in Bozeman for decades, by
following paid consultant’s advice from cities that are 10-20 times the population of Bozeman.
We don’t want our town to look like a city of millions. It’s not too late to try to keep as much of
our smaller town atmosphere as possible, and blend it with the new as much as possible. If we
don’t, we will end up with the Big City of Bozeman, where no wants to come to or to stay in.
Thank you
Gary and Jeanne Delin