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Home My WebLink About03-13-25 Public Comment - P. McGown - Time to get seriousFrom:Patty McGown To:Bozeman Public Comment Cc:Erin George; Chuck Winn; Emily Kiely Subject:[EXTERNAL]Time to get seriousDate:Tuesday, March 11, 2025 6:40:56 PM Attachments:edecc712-5807-74c4-0cd4-52192dc68c97.png 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. Greetings city commissioners and planning department employees: Patty McGownBozeman resident Jandt neighborhood I’ve been following the upzoning and rewrite of the UDC. Suffice it to say that you are not having the right conversations around theUnified Development Code (UDC) at this point in time. The rubber is about to hit the road and Bozeman residents deservethe honest truth not touchy feely BS. It’s been reported that last Wednesday’s UDC engagement meeting was so poorly managed that it quickly became unproductive and that even city staff, when attendees tried to bring up concerns that were NOT being addressed such as wallplate heights, floor area ratios, and zone edge transitions, appeared frustrated. Hopefully you can agree that we are way past the point of you guys wondering what neighborhoods mean to residents. When I was at the meeting for the UDC at the fairgrounds in December a city employee told me to my face that the city was being “intentionally vague” in phase 1, with the contents of the cities presentation. Much to my chagrin the city is still using the same slides in the same “intentionally vague” presentation. STOP THAT NOW! Get actual renderings of what increased density will actually look like with surrounding lots filled in and elevations. DO THATNOW! See below. As a community we need to talk about and hear about these specific zoning criteria and make sure they meet the needs ofresidents NOT JUST DEVELOPERS!!! These are mandatory to be addressed in the UDC rewrite: Building Heights: they have increased in EVERY SINGLE ZONE!!! Wall Plate Height: where 25 feet tall does not regulate mass and scale. Floor Area Ratio: to protect inappropriate building size in neighborhoods Zone Edge Transitions: these must apply across a street or between the proposed R-A, R-B and R-C. Lot Size: impacts of smaller lots in neighborhoods. Regulate Assembly of Parcels: this is a tool to keep sanity in neighborhoods. This helps protect neighborhoods from cruise-ship-sized developments in a neighborhood of canoe size houses. Demolition: work to prevent houses that are still livable, and may provide NOAH, from being torn down and filling the townwith 5 and 6 story luxury behemoths of buildings. Solar Access: CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL!! The city has committed to keep climate change front and center. Residents whohave installed solar panels have made a commitment to clean energy. Solar access must be a priority in the upzoning in the USC. Zoning Districts: prevent any neighborhood from being disposable. Take a stand and protect what Bozeman is, right now!! Fraternities and Sororities: there is a time and place for these houses. Protect existing neighborhoods from the impact ofthese social nightmares. Protect Trees: strengthen and implement the Heritage Tree Program. Protect Wetlands: require developers to identify wetlands and protect these sites. The city also is a steward of wetlands andmust protect wetlands from development. Build around wetlands. Water: the Gallatin valley cannot sustain the water needs of the current platted lands and lots let alone the water for the predicted growth. The city used to talk the talk that they understood water was an issue. Now the city has walked that back and acts like water is not a problem. WATER QUANTITY (and eventually quality) IS AN ISSUE NOW! TREAT WATER AS THE GODDESS SHE IS GOING FORWARD, FROM THE PREMISE THAT AT THE CURRENT GROWTH RATE,BOZEMAN WILL RUN OUT IF WATER. And please, please, please use images of density that accurately represent what the proposed density will actually look like! For example: The image below was generated by an MSU Architecture student: This image above is an actual block on North Wilson Ave showing existing real houses alongside what the current code allowsin neighborhoods zoned R-4! Can we get some images like this for the new code please! R-4 talk will become R-C in the newcode and it’s even worse! Please the city planning office has 35 people working for development. Can some of their focus be diverted to residents and issues that residents are bringing up?? And could residents issues, as listed above in this email, actually get addressed, and residents could be represented in this process. Standing by, Patty McGown