HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-03-25 Public Comment - C. Stillwell - guthrie project 24493From:Christy Stillwell
To:Terry Cunningham; Douglas Fischer; Joey Morrison; Bozeman Public Comment; Emma Bode; Jennifer Madgic
Subject:[EXTERNAL]guthrie project 24493
Date:Tuesday, December 31, 2024 2:55:37 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Mayor, City Commissioners, Chuck Winn and all city staff:
I requested public records (request 24-342) in regards to this application and did not
receive them in time to use them in public comment.
I and fellow neighbors of the proposed Guthrie building wanted to study the
correspondence between the City of Bozeman and the developer, HomeBase Partners,
on application 24493. I was in contact with Luz Chase on Dec 17, clarifying which
records I wanted. I was told the IT team would be in touch. I heard nothing and
followed up on Dec. 29, only to find Luz Chase was out of the office until after the
holidays. On Dec. 31, a new technician, Sam Sagstetter, wrote back asking again for me
to clarify which records I needed. He said the IT team would have these to me by "the
end of the week," which means, not in time to meet the public noticing deadline on
Dec. 31.
Through no fault of my own, I was unable to receive the correspondence between the
developer and the city on this application. Surely my frustration is understandable.
After the commission denied the project in June 2024, neighbors thought we had a 2
year stay on demolition. The two year stay is meant to offer the developer and
neighbors a chance to work together to find a project that would satisfy all parties.
That attempt was not made by the developer. This new application feels very much
like a revised old application.
My attempt to understand how interested the developer was in meeting objections to
the project was thwarted by poor timing. Because the public notice of this very
complex, much contested project fell at the holidays, with just two public meetings,
there was a time crunch. Commissioners owe it to their constituents to reclaim review
authority on this project again. Neighborhood advocates deserve more time to explore
the many issues in this application that conflict with city code, including NCOD mass
and scale violations, as well as traffic safety issues.
Thank you
Christy Stillwell