HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-31-25 Public Comment - A. Kociolek - USE THIS VERSION PLEASE April 1, 2025 City Commission Meeting - The Guthrie Appeal (24493)From:Angela Kociolek
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]USE THIS VERSION PLEASE April 1, 2025 City Commission Meeting - The Guthrie Appeal (24493)
Date:Sunday, March 30, 2025 12:16:38 AM
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include this version in the public record. Thank you.
March 30, 2025
Disclosure: I currently serve as Bozeman’s Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA)
Inter-Neighborhood Council (INC) Representative and am a Bozeman Tree Coalition (BTC)
co-founder, however, I submit this public comment as an individual.
Greetings Mayor and Commissioners,
As you consider the citizen-led appeal regarding The Guthrie — a property solidly located
within Midtown's Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD), — I think it useful to
share these excerpts from Chapter 38 of the Bozeman Municipal Code [38.340 Overlay
District Standards]:
"The intent and purpose of the conservation district designation is to
stimulate the restoration and rehabilitation of structures, and all other
elements contributing to the character and fabric of established residential
neighborhoods and commercial or industrial areas. New construction will be
invited and encouraged provided primary emphasis is given to the
preservation of existing buildings and further provided the design of such
new space enhances and contributes to the aesthetic character and function
of the property and the surrounding neighborhood or area."
"Seek to maintain and enhance the many private and public elements that are
unique to the fabric, theme and character of each neighborhood and area,
including, but not limited to: lighting, pathways, street trees, natural areas and
other features that may, from time to time, be identified by the citizens and
property owners' of neighborhoods, areas and subsections thereof."
"Contemporary, non-period and innovative design of new structures and
additions to existing structures is encouraged when such new construction or
additions do not destroy significant historical, cultural or architectural
structures or their components and when such design is compatible with the
foregoing elements of the structure and surrounding structures.”
We’ve been hearing from staff that the NCOD confers “guidelines” only and are not
“compulsory,” as if that means there is no purpose to follow them. Yet, as seen above, the
BMC/UDC lists them as “standards.” It seems as if City staff has taken it upon themselves
to say that the NCOD doesn’t hold water, and this feels like overreach.
I disagree with the staff report, which concludes that The Guthrie meets the requirements ofBMC 38.230.100.A.7.a. At four stories and 91 units, The Guthrie 2.0 does not have
"Compatibility with, and sensitivity to, the immediate environment of the site and theadjacent neighborhoods and other approved development relative to architectural
design, building mass, neighborhood identity, landscaping, historical character,orientation of buildings on the site and visual integration.” Just ask the people who live
in the immediate vicinity.
I encourage you to peruse folder 24493 because information about what is currently extant
on site appears to be lacking. For example, I see no “Tree Protection Plan” or similar
document. I believe I heard that the mature existing vegetation (coniferous and deciduous
trees and shrubs) on site would be cut down for this project, and yet I cannot find the
documentation in folder 24493 to confirm this. If the demolition plan includes cutting down
these trees, I believe, it is in violation of this part of City code: "Design and arrangement
of elements of the plan (e.g., buildings circulation, open space and landscaping, etc.)
in harmony with the existing natural topography, natural water bodies and water
courses, existing vegetation, and to contribute to the overall aesthetic quality of the
site configuration.” Therefore, this calls the staff report into question on this point.
To say that the mass and scale of a proposed four-story, 91-unit building is in keeping with
the current surrounding neighborhood is an indicator to me there was no site visit. Haven’t
we learned anything from Black Olive and North Central? People’s lives have been literally
overshadowed by newly constructed buildings that are disproportionate to their existing
neighborhoods.
Statements like this from the staff report, "Although none of the individual members
provides their address in order to verify their proximity to the site,” show me City staff seemmore interested in picking apart the citizen appeal than upholding the intention of the
NCOD or even the UDC.
From the staff report, "Appellant provides little, if any, specificity about how each memberexpects to be personally impacted by The Guthrie or any negative effect of The Guthrie’s
approval on their legal interests. Therefore, the City Attorney recommends the City notstipulate that Appellants are “aggrieved persons…”
Per the Montana Code Annotated, “’Aggrieved party’ means a person who can demonstrate
a specific personal and legal interest, as distinguished from a general interest, who has
been or is likely to be specially and injuriously affected by the decision.”
I am not a lawyer but can only guess there is a strategy for taking the approach suggested
by the City Attorney. I offer a more compassionate view. If what you seek is specificity
about how each member expects to be personally impacted, then it would be appropriate
for you to ask them about their aggrievance and then listen.
I ask you to consider why they would take time out of their lives, away from their loved
ones, and invest many thousands of dollars if they were not deeply affected about this
matter? I respectfully request that each of you take this citizen appeal at face value. They
love their neighborhood. They deserve to have a say.
I believe neighbors who will live within a stone’s throw of The Guthrie but who did not have
an opportunity for a hearing after the initial denial and before approval, should absolutely be
considered aggrieved. The Bozeman Home Advocacy Group (BHAG) would not exist if its
members did not feel aggrieved. To simply disregard the appellants per the City Attorney’s
advice would appear to be counter to the oath of office you each took to support the City
Charter which affirm the values of representative democracy and citizen participation.1
Please do not perpetuate what feels like the pitting of neighbors against developers. It
shouldn’t be this hard if developers would make reasonable project proposals in the first
place, and City staff (and Commissioners) expect and require projects to fit in with respectto mass, scale, aesthetics, and most importantly, with respect for those residents already
living there. This should be true across the City but especially in the NCOD.
I believe this situation could have been avoided if steps were taken to ensure neighbor
concerns were adequately addressed at the outset. Facilitating intentional and collaborative
development proposals between developers and neighbors is an area where I believe theCity can do better. Surely, together, we can muster enough creativity to design a building
that fits with a neighborhood, exists in harmony with trees and shrubs (that incidentallybenefit the entire community), and serves the needs of existing neighbors as well as new
residents — all while doing good things for a developer’s bottom line.
On a related note, I was heartened at NENA's recent UDC Open House. One topic of
conversation was citizen appeals and associated costs. There seemed to be agreement in
the room that such fees cause an undue hardship on citizens, are punitive, and should be
reviewed for the purposes of decreasing the fees and making appeals a more accessible
option for regular Bozeman residents. It breaks my heart to see my fellow neighbors
deplete their own financial resources to get the City to hear them and adequately address
their concerns when the developer wouldn’t.
Please vote to overturn or amend.
Thank you for listening.
Angie Kociolek620 N Tracy Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
1Oath of Office certificates for Deputy Mayor Morrison and Commissioner Fischer could not
be found in either of these two pertinent folders on March 29, 2025.
Oaths: https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/Browse.aspx?
id=290803&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN
Oaths of Office:
https://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=65599&dbid=0&repo=BOZEMAN