HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-25-25 Public Comment - N. Legault - Public Comment_ UDCFrom:Nicole Legault
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment: UDC
Date:Tuesday, June 24, 2025 1:39:48 PM
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This Commission is failing Bozeman. Spectacularly!
You’ve traded common sense for ideology, and now we’re watching our town unravel
in real time. The people who live here—who built lives, raised families, and
contributed to this community—are being steamrolled by a growth policy that caters to
outside developers, urbanist think tanks, and political agendas. Not to actual
residents. Not to public safety. Not to the long-term health of Bozeman.
* I support an immediate, city-wide building moratorium on the following, until
you do your job and update the Growth Policy, the UDC, and every other outdated
planning document this Commission continues to ignore:
Multi-family developments of four or more units
Mixed-use commercial-residential projects
Commercial developments exceeding 5,000 sq ft
This is not a radical ask—it’s a necessary intervention. We are watching our
infrastructure collapse under the weight of your rubber-stamped projects. Emergency
response times are up. Streets are gridlocked. Water and sewer systems are
strained. And your answer? More density. More waivers. Less oversight.
You’re not planning. You’re gambling—with public safety and with the future of thistown.
* Square Footage Caps – Hard Pass
A 2,500 sq ft cap on single-family homes? That’s government micromanagement atits worst. It’s anti-family, anti-property rights, and a transparent attempt to force a one-
size-fits-all housing ideology on a diverse population. And tossing in a bonus 1,000 sq
ft for “preserving” outdated homes? That’s just a cheap incentive to hang onto
substandard housing.
* Internal Subdivisions By Right – Absolutely Not
Letting investors chop up houses without review, while gutting parking and fee
requirements, is reckless. Bozeman’s older neighborhoods can’t handle the addedstrain—our streets, sewer lines, and utilities weren’t built for this kind of density.
Waiving fees is just fiscal malpractice. Who’s supposed to pay for the upgrades when
things start breaking?
* No Cap on Unrelated Occupants – This Isn’t a Dorm
Eliminating the 4-unrelated rule in a college town? That’s a gift to absentee landlords
and a slap in the face to residents. It invites overcrowding, drives up rents, and
wrecks neighborhoods. More people per house doesn’t mean more affordability—it
means more profit for investors and more headaches for everyone else.
You weren’t elected to serve abstract theories—and let’s be honest, some of you weren’telected at all. Bozeman is not your urban laboratory. Stop treating it like one. You’ve
ignored residents, bent over backward for special interests, and pushed an
aggressive density-at-all-costs agenda that’s making this town unlivable.
Sincerely,
Nicole Legault
(Full-time resident of Bozeman since 1997)