HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-16-24 Public Comment - M. Howie - reclaim review of The Guthrie V.2 (Application No. 24493)From:Mikaela Howie
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]reclaim review of The Guthrie V.2 (Application No. 24493)
Date:Monday, December 16, 2024 8:39:33 AM
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As a Taxpaying, property owner and full time resident of Bozeman, I am asking my city
commissioners to reclaim review of The Guthrie V.2 (Application No. 24493)" from the
City's Community Development Department. There are many reasons that the Guthrie and
associated developers are unsustainable and incompatible with the Bizeman community.
(1) The Guthrie V.2 is incompatible in mass and scale with the character and sense of
place of the surrounding neighborhood, which is in the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay
District.
(2) The Guthrie V.2 does not provide adequate on-site parking near Whittier Elementary
School (a public health and safety concern).
(3) The Guthrie's pricing of its 46 so-called affordable-housing units at 80% AMI will not, in
reality, be affordable to the majority of Bozeman's workforce.
(4) the MT Constitution, Article II Declaration of Rights, Section 8. RIGHT OF
PARTICIPATION reads, "The public has the right to expect governmental agencies to
afford such reasonable opportunity for citizen participation in the operation of the agencies
prior to the final decision as may be provided by law." Arguably, administrative-only reviews
by the City's Community Development Department violate this section of the MT
Constitution—ethically if not legally—because administrative-only reviews are not public,
not transparent, and erode trust between the public and the City of Bozeman.
5) Finally, all developments that include numerous small sized apartments and studios do
not fit well with the news and behavior of our community that is largely outdoor recreational
based. Each of these 91 units proposed by the Guthrie would house residents or short term
folks who will want storage for their boats, skis, bikes, snowmobile, trailers and associated
outdoor equipment. So, then the city will need.to provide storage units that will then
continue to take up open land space, pave over our water supply, increase car traffic and
overall reduce any feel of a community. What is more fitting for.our community are small
sized buildings or residential areas qith single and double family units where reside is can
share outdoor space,.plan community gardens, and house their recreational equipment
without having to drive. A city like Bozeman has every opportunity to become a walkable
safe place for pedestrians ans Cyclists alike. But by forcing people into spaces made for
urban living in the middle of a mountain town in rugged Bozeman, the basis of our
community is completely being missed. When residents who actually produce e and create
our community are all against a project, our elected commissioners need to.fight for us. I
understand there is a state mandate, but the majority of Bozemanites did not vote in our
state representatives. Please stand up and fight for us and our community. Money is not a
sustainable reason to destroy community.
Mikaela Howie