HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-27-24 Public Comment - L. Barnard - Guthrie...Act IIFrom:Larry Barnard
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Guthrie...Act II
Date:Tuesday, December 24, 2024 12:24:18 PM
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To the City Commission of Bozeman
Reclaim authority over the Guthrie development proposal! And makeit go away! Again! Finally!
From my perspective as a 55+ year resident of Bozeman, our
administrations have been making fools of themselves and the rest ofus for allowing developers to steer the boat of government and its
planning in spite of the wishes of the public at large.
Yes, a few of you don't crumble everytime the developers, especiallyHomebase Partners, show up with their lawyers and army of planning
specialists. But the majority has mostly not been on the side of MOSTcitizens, most of the time.
Where is it written that Bozeman HAS to allow incentives for a
developer to build? Let's call that a subsidy, if we must. If aninvestor/developer can't afford to build unnecessary buildings without
using public money then they shouldn't build it. In these times whenresidential property taxes are spiralling way out of control, forcing
people to relocate after decades in Bozeman, our tax base should neverbe shifted to help developers build unaffordable housing.
The developers at large here do not comprehend what affordable
housing is and they never will. It is not their mission to provideaffordable housing. And the 'incentives' don't work to bring about
affordable housing anyway. Unless you want to live in a $1600, or more,350 sq ft efficiency unit with a hotplate and no place to park your
vehicle.
So, that said, thank you to those that vote in a way that indicates youare not comfortable with the way things have gone and are still going on.
Let's get creative! Let's shift the spending priorities so we can hire oneor two more police officers at a time so it is safe to walk, bike and drive
in our beautiful community.
Very best regardsLarry Barnard
Bozeman, Montana