HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-13-25 Public Comment - D. Loseff - Public Comment letter on proposed Cloverleaf alley abandonment proposalFrom:David Loseff
To:Terry Cunningham; Douglas Fischer; Jennifer Madgic; Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment letter on proposed Cloverleaf alley abandonment proposal
Date:Friday, June 13, 2025 2:18:37 AM
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Dear Mayor and Commissioners,
I am a Bozeman resident who owns property on E. Cottonwood and Front St. immediatelynorth of the Bronkens/Cloverleaf proposed development parcel. The following are my public
comments on the developers' request to abandon the north-south alley between EastCottonwood Street and East Peach Street and then conveying this vacated 4,800 sf current
publicly owned parcel to the developer.
1. Given the current and future proposed growth in this immediate area (including the 100 unitpreviously proposed residences on the Bronkens site along with the nearby Wallace Works
project and other proposed projects in this immediate vicinity) the publicly owned 4,800 sfalley strip is very strategically situated in the middle of this high growth area where this
vacated parcel can potentially be re-utilized creatively in multiple potential alternative wayssuch as converting it into a linear park not unlike Soroptimist Park downtown or alternatively
create a grassy walking path or bike path along this corridor which connecting E. Cottonwoodto E. Peach. Such a public space would be a nice creative addition to this Northeast
neighborhood area where we are all trying to preserve its uniqueness and idiosyncrasies as afunky, gritty possible arts district.......which currently is getting transitioned into cookie cutter,
homogenized residential units.The current downtown alley enhancement project offers someexamples.
2. In keeping with the City Commission decision to reject Matt Paine's variance request to
utilized the Bozeman Creek front area for semi-private use as a terrace deck area (on hisprivately owned property) in favor of requiring that he keep the setback area unused and open
for potential public access and uses, how can the City Commission reasonably justify givingaway this publicly owned alley strip in a prime growth area to a private developer for its own
private use and added profits?
3. Another alternative use for this public alley strip would be to convert it into parking whichis greatly needed currently in this northeast area with such needs significantly increasing over
time due to increased new density. Clearly this 16' x 300' area is insufficient in size by itselfto accommodate a linear parking area, but perhaps the developer should consider allocating a
portion of its western strip of its Bronkens site to combine with this alley strip to create alinear parking area via a public-private partnership. While the developer may not want to
"donate" any of its private land running contiguous to the alley parcel towards this purpose tobenefit the community (since they would clearly prefer their pending request to have the city
vacate the alley and give this parcel away to them for free), the City Commission needs to bereminded that this developer is concurrently seeking over $2 million in public TIF funding to
supports its Bronkens development project. Thus, compromises should be made by thedeveloper where the City reaps some benefits instead of just granting another developer a
freebie giveaway and particularly in this situation where one of this area's greatest needs is forincreased public parking spaces and potential parking locations are scarce.
4. At a bare minimum, vacating a publicly owned alley area of 4,800 sf holds significant valuewhich should not simply be handed over to a developer without the City obtaining valuable
consideration. Undeveloped land in this area is valued in the $90-$120 psf range which wouldsuggest a base value between $430k to $600k for this parcel and further note that developers
will typically pay an even significantly higher premium for a strategically located contiguousparcel given the value it would create for an overall project. In short, this 4,800 sf alley strip
holds significant value and it should not be given away to the developer for free or little value.
5. With respect to the staff and engineering report on vacating the alley, while I don't havetheir expertise to disagree with their findings, I would also like to raise the question....to what
extent will the future proposed development of the Bronkens site neighboring areas change thepotential need for this alley strip.......while I fully accept the report's conclusion that this alley
strip wouldn't be practical for regular traffic, dependent on the nature of surrounding growth, itmay be very useful for truck deliveries, pickups, garbage collection, etc. and a means of
avoiding adding further such congestion on the main streets of E. Cottonwood and E. Peachwhich will certainly face increased traffic flows in the future. For example, while the
alleyway behind the Baxter isn't suitable for regular traffic, it is greatly needed for all of thedelivery and garbage trucks etc. and if we didn't have that alley, Willson and Main St. would
face the added congestion of delivery trucks blocking the main roadways.
5. From a Montana statute standpoint, I don't believe that the City has the right to simplytransfer ownership in this publicly owned alley strip to the developer without undertaking the
public process of getting a formal appraisal and then undertaking a public sale process similarto the process undertaken with the old fire station sale.
6. As a neighboring property owner, I would have a potential interest in making an offer for
this 4,800 sf alley parcel if the alley gets vacated.This is not a formal offer or even an informaloffer on my part but simply an expression of potential interest. I would imagine that other
parties would have similar potential interest.
Respectfully,David Loseff