HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-24 Public Comment - A. Halstad - Reference Application_ 23306From:Amber
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Reference Application: 23306
Date:Wednesday, November 13, 2024 9:27:50 AM
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Good Morning,
My name is Amber, and I would like to make a comment about the development that is
proposed to go up in the land space right across from Four Daughters farm called "Range 5".To start, I am not anti-development. I work in the construction trade, and value the income
that comes from these types of projects. I have lived in this valley my whole life, and haveseen its growth as positive, with a few pain points regarding affordability for middle class
workers. I also understand that housing in the valley is a multi-faceted, difficult issue tocombat, especially with the steady growth of our community as the years pass.
With that being said, this development needs to have multiple extra considerations added to
the plan that are not being taken into account if you plan to go through with it.
The road that would lead to this development needs addressing. Currently, the road is only twolanes, with zero shoulder room, which is already nail biting for drivers and bikers alike. With
the extra traffic additions of the construction workers and equipment, and then the 300+tenants living in that future space, there needs to be a shoulder put in at least, or a bike lane, or
a third/middle lane for people to turn into/out of. Something needs to be added to the road toprovide safer access to the future space. Without that, I foresee frequent accidents happening,
especially in the evenings or on snowy/icy days.
Impact of construction on the soil and water to the farm. Construction zones are not farmfriendly. They have lots of trash and other pollutants that frequently get into the surrounding
environments, not to mention the impact that they have on the surrounding soil layers, andthen the extensive water use that will need to happen during construction and after while
tenants use the local water resources. The farm absolutely needs that water for their crops andtheir livestock, and it would be harrowing for them to have to deal with pollutants clogging up
their resources.
The final point I have for this, is that we need to be supporting our local farms that have astrong, positive impact on our community, and putting a large scale apartment development
right across from one does not reflect Bozeman or Montana's values. Four Daughter's Farmdoes not just provide crops and livestock without doing anything else. They have a farm shop,
flower picking in the summer, pumpkin picking in the fall, do farm dinners, and support otherlocal businesses like Amatheia, to name only a few of the large scale community events that
they put on.
Their impact has been felt by four generations of women in my family, who have done theirflower picking together on a beautiful summer's day, and created priceless memories. I'd hate
for other people in the valley to not be able to have that same experience because of adevelopment taking up their resources and creating more strife for the farm, causing them to
reduce the amount of events they put on.
Please, if you are going to still develop this land regardless of the comments urging you toreconsider, be sure to work closely with the farm right next to it to make sure you are not
negatively impacting them. Thank you for the time you've taken to read this.