HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-31-25 Public Comment - S. Jones & S. Wolf - Guthrie appealFrom:sheridan sheridanjonesla.com
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Guthrie appeal
Date:Monday, March 31, 2025 5:52:13 AM
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To City of Bozeman
I want to express my concern over the continued misrepresentation and
misapplication of the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) Design
Guidelines by staff, particularly in reference to development application#24493,
known as the Guthrie. I am writing in support of the appeal, application #25033,and request that the appeal be approved and the Guthrie be denied. These guidelinesare not discretionary—they are adopted code. The NCOD is binding and must be
applied completely and correctly to any development within its boundaries.
It is troubling that staff have used the boundaries of the Midtown NeighborhoodAssociation—a community liaison group with no legal authority—as a reference for
determining appropriateness of development. "Neighborhood" is not defined in the
Unified Development Code (UDC), however The city’s own consultants, MetcalfArchaeological Consultants, provided a framework through architectural surveys in2019 and 2020. They explicitly recommend viewing the Karp and Violett Additions
as potential historic districts due to their integrity, architectural character, and
postwar development history. These are the neighborhoods that should inform
context and compatibility—not broader political or organizational boundaries.
The most serious flaw in the staff analysis, however, is the repeated claim that the
NCOD Design Guidelines are not mandatory. This is demonstrably false. Section
38.110.010(B) of the Bozeman Municipal Code adopts the Design Guidelines byreference, integrating them directly into law. Section 38.100.050(A) reinforces this
by requiring that, in cases of conflicting provisions, the more restrictive standard
must govern. The NCOD, by design, imposes stricter requirements than base zoning
—and therefore must control.
Staff’s rationale rests on a faulty interpretation of the term “should” and
misconstrues the intentional flexibility in the Design Guidelines, treating it as
advisory. But the Guidelines themselves clarify in Appendix B: “If the term‘should’ appearsin a design guideline, compliance is required.” Flexibility exists
only when the applicant can prove that the core policy will still be met. This is not a
semantic debate—it’s the difference between legal compliance and arbitrary
discretion.
Overlay districts like the NCOD are standard planning tools used across the country
to provide enhanced protections in sensitive areas—historic, ecological, or
otherwise. They are meant to supplement and, where necessary, override basezoning to preserve essential characteristics of a community. In Bozeman, the
NCOD was specifically created to protect the character and scale of historicneighborhoods. The American Planning Association and long-standing zoning
precedent, not to mention Bozeman’s own code, affirm that overlay district
regulations take precedence when a conflict arises.
To claim otherwise—and to permit developments like the proposed Guthrie tomove forward based solely on base zoning—is not only an abandonment of the
city’s obligations, itundermines public trust and decades of community-driven
planning.
This is not about opposing growth or progress. It’s about doing it right, creating a
beautiful city full of opportunity, hopefully ample green space amid the structures,
parking adequate for new construction and preservation of historic neighborhoodsand stands of existing trees. The community has not rejected new development oreven affordable housing on this site. What residents demand—rightfully—is that
development within the NCOD comply with the same standards that have guided all
prior projects: compatibility, context, and character.
The NCOD is not optional. It is law. And it must be applied accordingly.
Sincerely,
Sheridan Jones and Steve Wolf
Longtime Bozeman homeowners