HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-24 Public Comment - A. Hoitsma - Community Development Board consideration of Application 24225From:Amy Kelley Hoitsma
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:Cathy Costakis
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Community Development Board consideration of Application 24225
Date:Monday, July 15, 2024 11:42:41 AM
Attachments:Public Comment CDB Application 24225 15July2024.docx
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July 15, 2024
To: The City of Bozeman Community Development Board
RE: Application 24225—NEHMU Zone Text Amendment to Modify the City's Development
Code to Allow Apartments as a Permitted Use with No Restrictions in Area on the Second andSubsequent Floors, and Basements of Buildings, and to Allow Lobbies on the Ground Floor
When Associated with Residential Uses in the NEHMU District (Northeast Historic MixedUse District)
Public Comment submitted by: Amy Kelley Hoitsma, NENA President, and Cathy Costakis,NENA Vice President
Honorable Community Development Board members:
While we hold leadership positions within the Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA),we are writing as individuals in support of Application 24225.
We support this application because we believe it will help transition the Northeast HistoricMixed Use (NEHMU) zone from primarily commercial to an even more vibrant mixed-use
neighborhood, which the Future Land Use Map has designated as “Community CommercialMixed Use.” And, given our current housing shortage and affordability crisis, we believe it is
wise to allow apartments as a Permitted Use in this district.
That said, we believe there is much more work to be done to create a unique NEHMU zoning
district that Bozeman can be proud of well into the future.
We have participated in an ad hoc committee of NENA that has been working for some time
to better understand and to make recommendations to modernize the NEHMU zoning districtcode. It has become apparent that the NEHMU code, as it currently exists, no longer serves the
neighborhood’s future. The fact that several developers in the recent past have requested torezone pieces of the NEHMU neighborhood to B2M is testimony to that problem.
To be honest, we are tired of organizing the neighborhood to oppose those proposals.
Rather than shrinking the NEHMU boundaries and converting it—chunks at a time—to B2M,
we envision EXPANDING its boundaries. Adjacent to NEHMU and beyond are significantproperties that are currently zoned M-1, but which will likely redevelop with a different use,
perhaps requiring a change in zoning. We would prefer to create a more functional and
visionary NEHMU zoning district that future developments would want to be a part of.
Our vision for NEHMU is for this area to develop into an Arts and Culture District. We are
exploring examples of this type of district in other locations across the U.S. and beyond, andhow municipal code can define, encourage, and perhaps even incentivize the creation of an
Arts and Culture District. We envision active public spaces, public artwork, and affordablemaker spaces for burgeoning artists and places to sell their work. We proposed this idea at our
last NENA meeting on May 13, 2024; there was an overwhelming positive response fromneighborhood attendees. We plan to engage the neighborhood further as we explore this
concept.
We welcome any help from the Community Development Board, planning staff, and/or the
City Commission. We believe this area of the city is unique. We envision a vibrant, mixed-useneighborhood that respects historic uses, encourages appropriate and creative adaptive reuse of
commercial/industrial spaces, supports arts and culture, and allows for a variety of housingtypes including multi-family residential. We want to encourage the eclectic, creative, and
“funky” vibe of the neighborhood through the creation of an Arts and Cultural District.
Thank you for your service, for supporting this application, and for your support in creating a
unique, creative, and functional NEHMU Arts and Culture District.
Sincerely,
Amy Kelley Hoitsma, 706 E. Peach St., Bozeman, MT 59715 (aok@mcn.net)
Cathy Costakis, 140 Village Crossing Way, Unit 2A, Bozeman, MT 59715
(costakisce@gmail.com)