HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-25 Public Comment - J. Osman - In support of the Guthrie Appeal # 25033From:Juliet Osman
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]In support of the Guthrie Appeal # 25033
Date:Tuesday, April 1, 2025 10:12:51 AM
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Dear Commissioners
I write to express deep concern over the continued misrepresentation and misapplication of the
Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) Design Guidelines by staff, particularlyin
reference to development application #24493, aka the Guthrie. I am writing in support of theappeal, application #25033, and request that the appeal be approved and the Guthrie be denied.
These guidelines are not discretionary—they are adopted code. The NCOD is binding andmust
be applied fully and correctly to any development within its boundaries.
It is troubling that staff have used the boundaries of the Midtown Neighborhood Association—a
community liaison group with no legal authority—as a reference for determiningappropriateness
of development. The most serious flaw in the staff analysis, however, is the repeated claimthat the NCOD Design
Guidelines are not mandatory. This is false. Section 38.110.010(B) of the BozemanMunicipal Code adopts the Design Guidelines by reference, integrating them directly into law.
Section 38.100.050(A) reinforces this by requiring that, in cases of conflicting provisions, themore restrictive standard must govern. The NCOD, by design, imposes stricter requirements
thanbase zoning—and therefore must control.
Overlay districts like the NCOD are standard planning tools used across the country to provideenhanced protections in sensitive areas—historic, ecological, or otherwise. They are meant to
supplement and, where necessary, override base zoning to preserve essential characteristics ofa
community. In Bozeman, the NCOD was specifically created to protect the character and scaleof
historic neighborhoods. The American Planning Association and long-standing zoningprecedent, 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 to move 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. The community has
notrejected new development or even 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,
Juliet Osman