HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-20-25 Public Comment - A. Lincke, Forward Montana - CDB 5_19 Comment_ Forward MontanaFrom:Anja Lincke
To:Bozeman Public Comment; Mark Egge
Subject:[EXTERNAL][SENDER UNVERIFIED]CDB 5/19 Comment: Forward Montana
Date:Monday, May 19, 2025 5:22:01 PM
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Forward Montana Public Comment, 5/19/21
Good Evening Members of the Community Development Board,
My name is Anja Lincke and I am speaking on behalf of Forward Montana this
evening.
The organizing that we are doing focuses on the needs and vision of young people
and renters in our community– who make up more than 50% of Bozeman’s
population– but continue to be underrepresented in these conversations.
I operate from a clear vision: affordable, inclusive neighborhoods with the type of
character that only comes when people are not afraid to be priced out. A vision where
we prioritize the community's needs over any individual’s wants. Where you can have
people at all life stages and income levels getting their basic needs met, sharing third
spaces, and forming community. Where our housing doesn’t threaten a sustainable
relationship with the gifts that nature offers us.
The priorities of young people and renters that ground me, based on hundreds of
survey responses and many conversations are:
1.
Meeting our housing needs: including affordability, availability, variety, and
location
2.
Managing our impact on the environment: focusing on avoiding sprawl and
protecting sensitive lands
3.
Creating more accessible transportation options: specifically enhancing bike
and pedestrian infrastructure, and public transportation access.
We have done our homework to connect young person priorities with what the
experts are saying on policy. I want to uplift some policy recommendations and state
Forward Montana’s explicit endorsement: (links included in the written comment).
Architects' Bozeman UDC Recommendations - Public
The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform
All of the Gallatin Watershed’s expert recommendations to protect and preserve
water and wetlands.
Furthermore, in an effort to illuminate areas where multiple stakeholders agree, Alison
Sweeney and I co-wrote this list of Collaborative Policy Agreements. I would like to
specifically name and uplift a few recommendations that come from these lists.
From the Architects, Apply middle and higher intensity zones to areas within ⅓ mile of existing and planned civic, commercial, and employment centers
Also from the Architects, Continue to focus appropriately-scaled redevelopment
in the downtown core and along transportation corridors.
From Strong towns, Eliminate Minimum Lot Size Requirements in Existing
Neighborhoods.
From the collaborative policy agreements, Eliminate language about “4
unrelated occupants”
Also from the collaborative policy agreements, Policies that support the
formation of “community nodes” with neighborhood scale commercial .
Last development board meeting, I discussed my sq ft cap proposal. Last week,
Alison Sweeney and I included the proposal in our joint recommendations to the city
commission. If this idea is unfeasible, I strongly support the architect’s
recommendations to use building form, not unit caps, to achieve compatibility in R-
Zones.
Thanks for the work you all do.
Anja
--
Anja Lincke
She/They | Housing Campaign Manager
c: (907)205-0196e: anja@forwardmontana.orgw: forwardmontana.org
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