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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-25 Public Comment - S. Ahmed - Public Comment on The Guthrie – April 1 MeetingFrom:Selenaceae To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on The Guthrie – April 1 Meeting Date:Tuesday, April 1, 2025 11:09:16 AM Attachments:Comment_April1_SelenaAhmed.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. Re: Opposition to the Guthrie Project – Support for Appeal of COA Approval Dear Bozeman Mayor and City Commissioners, I am writing in opposition to the proposed Guthrie project and in full support of the appeal to overturn its Certificate of Appropriateness and site plan approval. The project fails to meet several key policies related to building mass, scale, and neighborhood context. Approving it would set a troubling precedent by selectively disregarding established city code. My position is not a rejection of growth, affordable housing, or development in Bozeman. Rather, I urge that development - within the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) - comply with the binding code. As currently proposed, the Guthrie project violates the NCOD Design Guidelines—guidelines that are not discretionary but codified within Bozeman’s Unified Development Code. Section 38.110.010(B) of the Bozeman Municipal Code explicitly incorporates these Design Guidelines by reference, making them legally enforceable. Additionally, Section 38.100.050(A) clarifies that when regulations conflict, the more restrictive standard prevails—meaning NCOD standards override base zoning like R-5 when inconsistencies arise, as they clearly do in this case. The project site is within the NCOD and is legally part of the Karp Addition, a subdivision platted in 1946 and developed during Bozeman’s postwar expansion. City- commissioned studies in 2019 and 2020 recommended that the Karp Addition be evaluated as potential historic districts due to architectural integrity and cohesive character—a legacy of Bozeman’s development history not yet represented in our historic registries. The Guthrie project is dramatically out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood. Volume analyses show it is up to ten times the size of neighboring buildings—and twenty times larger than some nearby single-family homes. It brings commercial-scale massing into a residential character area protected by the NCOD. Rather than integrating with its surroundings, it overwhelms them, in direct contradiction to Design Guideline B: Building Mass and Scale, which states: “A new building should not be so dramatically greater in scale than the established context that the visual continuity of the neighborhood would be compromised.” The NCOD has safeguarded the identity and livability of our historic neighborhoods since 1991. It was created to prevent exactly this kind of development mismatch.Allowing this project to move forward without full NCOD compliance risks not only neighborhood character but public trust. It sends a message that our planning code is optional, that developers can bypass the rules, and that community voices carry little weight. I respectfully urge the Commission to support the appeal and require that any future development on this site fully adheres to NCOD Design Guidelines. This is not just about one building—it is about preserving Bozeman’s identity, upholding our shared commitments, and ensuring that our city grows with integrity. With gratitude, Selena Ahmed Re: Opposition to the Guthrie Project – Support for Appeal of COA Approval Dear Bozeman Mayor and City Commissioners, I am writing in opposition to the proposed Guthrie project and in full support of the appeal to overturn its Certificate of Appropriateness and site plan approval. The project fails to meet several key policies related to building mass, scale, and neighborhood context. Approving it would set a troubling precedent by selectively disregarding established city code. My position is not a rejection of growth, affordable housing, or development in Bozeman. Rather, I urge that development - within the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (NCOD) - comply with the binding code. As currently proposed, the Guthrie project violates the NCOD Design Guidelines—guidelines that are not discretionary but codified within Bozeman’s Unified Development Code. Section 38.110.010(B) of the Bozeman Municipal Code explicitly incorporates these Design Guidelines by reference, making them legally enforceable. Additionally, Section 38.100.050(A) clarifies that when regulations conflict, the more restrictive standard prevails—meaning NCOD standards override base zoning like R-5 when inconsistencies arise, as they clearly do in this case. The project site is within the NCOD and is legally part of the Karp Addition, a subdivision platted in 1946 and developed during Bozeman’s postwar expansion. City- commissioned studies in 2019 and 2020 recommended that the Karp Addition be evaluated as potential historic districts due to architectural integrity and cohesive character—a legacy of Bozeman’s development history not yet represented in our historic registries. The Guthrie project is dramatically out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood. Volume analyses show it is up to ten times the size of neighboring buildings—and twenty times larger than some nearby single-family homes. It brings commercial-scale massing into a residential character area protected by the NCOD. Rather than integrating with its surroundings, it overwhelms them, in direct contradiction to Design Guideline B: Building Mass and Scale, which states: “A new building should not be so dramatically greater in scale than the established context that the visual continuity of the neighborhood would be compromised.” The NCOD has safeguarded the identity and livability of our historic neighborhoods since 1991. It was created to prevent exactly this kind of development mismatch. Allowing this project to move forward without full NCOD compliance risks not only neighborhood character but public trust. It sends a message that our planning code is optional, that developers can bypass the rules, and that community voices carry little weight. I respectfully urge the Commission to support the appeal and require that any future development on this site fully adhere to NCOD Design Guidelines. This is not just about one building—it is about preserving Bozeman’s identity, upholding our shared commitments, and ensuring that our city grows with integrity. With gratitude, Selena Ahmed