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Home My WebLink About04-01-25 Public Comment - Z. Osman - Fwd_ An Inspiring Approach to Compatible Affordable HousingFrom:Zehra Osman To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fwd: An Inspiring Approach to Compatible Affordable Housing Date:Monday, March 31, 2025 10:22:47 PM Attachments:Sunnyside Gardens-summary pdf with photos.pdf 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. I have noticed that my public comments have not been added to the public record. Further, the public comment page is very difficult to access; it too easily and too quickly becomes unavailable due to my repeated attempts to access it. I have tried the tips City staff as given me to rectify this. It should not be so difficult to use this important tool. Please add this email and all attachments to the public record for the (1) landmark study, (2) affordable housing ordinance, and the (3) UDC update. Begin forwarded message: From: Zehra Osman <zosman534@gmail.com>Subject: An Inspiring Approach to Compatible Affordable HousingDate: March 19, 2025 at 4:00:06 PM MDT To: Elizabeth Darrow <elizabeth.darrow@gmail.com>, cnholling91@outlook.com, mike@arch118.com, lindasemones@hotmail.com, allycaroline@gmail.com,ashleyharville@yahoo.com, jwebster587@gmail.com Cc: Sarah Rosenberg <SRosenberg@bozeman.net>, Jennifer Madgic <jmadgic@bozeman.net>, Bozeman Public Comment <comments@bozeman.net> Please add this email and all attachments to the public record for the (1) landmark study, (2) affordable housing ordinance, and the (3) UDC update. Honorable members of the Historic Preservation Advisory Board, Sarah Rosenberg, and HPAB liaison Commissioner Jennifer Madgic: Many Bozemanites, myself included, have urged the City to allow only compatible infill within the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD). I’d like to share a case study that exemplifies a brilliant approach of adding compatible affordable housing to an existing neighborhood without demolishing existing buildings and without squeezing a too- tall building onto every inch of a confined lot where it towers over existing smaller units. Here is information about a remarkable affordable housing project built between 1924 - 1935 in the borough of Queens, New York called Sunnyside Gardens. My 96-year old mother lives near this district and I’ve taken many walks under the shade of the 90-year-old Sycamore trees that line the streets within Sunnyside Gardens, where vegetation such as existing trees, shrubs, and gardens creates a sense of place. My goal in sharing this case study with you is to demonstrate how infill, in this case affordable housing, can: A. benefit our low-income neighbors with dignified and livable housing that is supportive for many types of families B. be architecturally compatible (scale, mass, materials, design, etc.) within our NCOD C. not require demolition of our existing historic buildingsD. incorporate vegetation as an important unifying feature to be preserved Let’s be inspired by how the affordable housing crisis was tackled in Sunnyside back in the 1920s-1930s, where a “master-plan” provided a vision and framework that guided future developers. The architectural style of Sunnyside Gardens buildings fits compatibly within the surrounding architectural style that existed in 1920s Sunnyside. This example can fire our imaginations for how we in Bozeman can embrace the history of the architectural styles within the NCOD (see the attached pdf). The map below shows the context and extent of the Sunnyside Gardens development, which connects the existing subway station at the south end to the core of the development to the north. The varying housing types are arranged around landscaped open courtyards and tree- lined streets and include: 1. two-story row houses that easily and compatibly fit into the existing neighborhoods as infill since they could be flexibly organized into a variety of cluster arrangements.2. taller 3-4-story apartment buildings that were built on undeveloped greenfield land to the north of the row houses. These were arranged around a central landscaped courtyard in a campus-type setting, which created its own neighborhood sense of place. This framework is much better than, for example, squeezing a tall incompatible apartmentbuilding onto every inch of a confined lot where it towers over existing smaller units of the existing neighborhood. The cohesive architectural style of Sunnyside Gardens was not only compatible within the existing neighborhood architecture and setting, it unified the development and gave residents a sense of belonging that continues to exist today. For your convenience, I’ve created the attached summary pdf document (below), which contains photos and excerpts from the following sources: A. World Garden Cities webpage: https://www.worldgardencities.com/garden- cities/sunnyside-gardens,-queens-new-york-united-states . This contains a great historic aerial photo of the development early in its construction. B. Please peruse this neighborhood website for Sunnyside Preservation Alliance: https://sunnysidegardens.us/ , which has resources such as the development history and historic images and videos showing the construction of the development. The website is a lot of fun to explore and gives one a sense for how they feel about their neighborhood. You can see how Eleanor Roosevelt and other notable figures were involved. C. SUNNYSIDE GARDENS HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION REPORT: This is a Google Doc that contains history, maps, great descriptions and photos of each of the different types of units. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TsEeM4ZCKqFtWwKQb7bya_aBrQCMaVMO/view? usp=sharing D. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyside_Gardens,_Queens Please consider the Sunnyside Gardens approach as a model to protect the NCOD. Additionally, I urge you to consider rethinking the 2017 Subchapter 4B of Bozeman’s Code of Ordinances, since it is the antithesis to historic preservation philosophy as prescribed in the National Historic Preservation Act, and has caused a lot of the conflict we’re currently experiencing. Thanks again for your time and consideration. I often travel to Sunnyside and am happy to take more photos and videos for you, if that is helpful. Respectfully, Zehra Osman 312 Sanders Ave. 59718 Please see the attached pdf that contains historic and current-day photos Sunnyside Gardens, New York The 55 acres of Sunnyside Gardens are contained within 17 city blocks, with 563 row houses, 32 co-ops, and hundreds of rental apartments—all adjoined by garden spaces. Parking garages and commercial shops are located around the edges of the community. Blocks within the street grid are known as Courts, with buildings enclosing interior garden commons. Lanes and walkways lead through each block to divide the interior space into three of four smaller The map above shows the geographic extent of the development, which connected the existing subway station at the south end to the core of the development to the north. The housing unit types ranged from row houses to 3-4-story apartment buildings. All buildings shared a cohesive architectural style that was not only compatible within the existing neighborhood settings, it uniﬁed the development and gave residents a sense of pride that continues to exist today. garden areas. (Excerpts taken from Sunnyside Preservation Alliance: https:// sunnysidegardens.us/ ) This large complex is one of the most signiﬁcant planned residential communities in New York City and has achieved national and international recognition for its combination of varying housing types arranged around landscaped open courtyards. The development at Sunnyside Gardens was the ﬁrst practical application of the architecture and planning concepts developed by the Regional Planning Association of America (RPAA). This diverse group, brought together by Clarence Stein, met from 1923 to 1931 to examine the roots of the country’s housing crisis and try to ﬁnd new approaches to providing quality housing for low-income workers. Apartment buildings organized around courtyard 4-story apartment buildings and townhomes across the street are compatible due to architecture and materials Sunnyside Gardens was built from 1924 to 1928 and Phipps Garden Apartments in 1931-32 and 1935. Reserving unusually large areas for open space and minimizing construction costs, the designers created homes affordable to working people by combining rows of one- to three-family private houses with co-op and rental apartment buildings, arranging these around common gardens and parks, and placing stores and garages on the periphery of the neighborhood. Sunnyside Gardens consists of a series of nine 'courts' or rows of townhouses and nine small apartment buildings of four to six stories tall (the apartment buildings are arranged around a central landscaped courtyard). Unique was that large areas were reserved for open spaces for common gardens and pocket parks. Each private residence has a small front garden facing the street and a private garden in the rear. The rental units in the two- and three-family houses enjoy private terraces overlooking the gardens. (Excerpts taken from World Garden Cities webpage: https://www.worldgardencities.com/garden-cities/sunnyside-gardens,-queens- new-york-united-states ) The units were designed in simpliﬁed styles, precursors of the modern movement, and some had Colonial Revival or Art Deco details and a variety of rooﬂines and setbacks were added for visual interest. Sunnyside included apartments as well as single-, double- and triple-family houses, for purchase or rent. The original population included office and factory workers from a range of backgrounds. The physical arrangement and amenities as well as the community organizational system contributed to the planners’ goal of creating a neighborhood that would meet the social as well as the physical needs of its residents (excerpt from Historic District Designation Report). Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyside_Gardens,_Queens SUNNYSIDE GARDENS HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION REPORT: This is a Google Doc that contains history, maps, great descriptions and photos of each of the different types of units. https://drive.google.com/ﬁle/d/ 1TsEeM4ZCKqFtWwKQb7bya_aBrQCMaVMO/view?usp=sharing