HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-25 Public Comment - M. Durbin - UDC Public CommentFrom:Morgan Durbin
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]UDC Public Comment
Date:Tuesday, June 24, 2025 10:53:10 AM
Attachments:udc public comment.pdf
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I'm submitting my public comment for this evening's commission meeting re: UDC. Thanksfor you time in reading and considering it!
Morgan Durbin they/them
(320) 291-0334
My name is Morgan Durbin. I live in a duplex on West Lamme, a walkable distance from
downtown and the restaurants of 7th ave while preserving the quiet charm of a residential area.
I’ve filled a variety of roles during my five years in Bozeman – nonprofit employee, organizer,
service worker, student, and now as a social worker and therapist. I’ve also moved nine times.
Saving y’all from doing the math, that’s nearly once every six months.
My priorities when I consider housing include walkability and/ or bikeability; proximity to my
community; affordability for service workers, working professionals, students, and families alike
(I've filled three of these categories); and access to green space and community hubs for my
neighbors and I. These priorities have been informed by a number of my own lived experiences.
To name a few, my partner and I share a car, so it’s important that we can generally get to the
places we need to go by walking or biking in the event that the other needs to go a longer
distance on a given day. Feeling embedded in community is really important to me from an
emotional and logistical standpoint. I enjoy the ease of inviting neighbors whose names I know
over for dinner. And, knowing my neighbors contributes to a feeling of safety and belonging, and
an assuredness that if I were experiencing an emergency or crisis, there are doors I could knock
on. In each of the positions I’ve held during my time in Bozeman, I have hovered well below
what qualifies for section 8 subsidized housing. All this to say, these priorities aren’t a matter of
preference to me or many in my direct community, they’re financial and logistical necessities.
I urge the Bozeman City Commission to prioritize the needs of its residents, not the aesthetic
preference of a vocal few. According to Bozeman’s Strategic Plan, developed in 2018, some of
the city’s explicitly named priorities include “an engaged community,” “a well-planned city,” and
“a sustainable environment.” These priorities point towards thoughtful density and infill, rather
than creating a small-town feel for those who can afford it and pushing those who can’t to the
outskirts where access to basic necessities can only be reached via car. It means maintaining
this density to protect our wild spaces and clean water as a means of investing in some level of
climate resiliency that prioritizes the safety of all, wildlife included. This also means
acknowledging the rate that Bozeman is growing at, as we transition from small town to a small
to mid-size city. We need a variety of housing options to meet the needs of a diversifying
community. The reality of the matter is, we don’t get to choose if we grow, but how we grow.
And, the best way to protect Bozeman from a jarring change to its values and the environment
that makes it alluring to so many, is to grow and adapt in all neighborhoods not just towards the
outskirts of town.