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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-04-25 Public Comment - J. Amsden - Application No. 24147 – Boutique Hotel MendenhallFrom:John Amsden To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Application No. 24147 – Boutique Hotel Mendenhall Date:Monday, August 4, 2025 10:21:39 AM Attachments:25-0804 Amsden to City of Bozeman re Aug 5 2025 Commission Meeting.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. Please see attached. NOTICE: This e-mail may contain confidential or privileged material and is intended for use solely by the above-referenced recipient. Any review, copying, printing, disclosure, distribution or other use by any other person or entity is strictly prohibited. If you are not the named recipient or believe you have received this e-mail in error, please reply to the sender and delete the copy you received. Thank you. Beck, Amsden & Stalpes pllc 610 Professional Drive Bozeman, MT 59718 JOHN L. AMSDEN PARTNER Tel: 406-586-8700 Amsden@becklawyers.com August 4, 2025 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Bozeman City Commission 121 N. Rouse Avenue Bozeman, MT 59715 comments@bozeman.net Re: Application No. 24147 – Boutique Hotel Mendenhall Enforce City Policy on Off-Site Parking and Bozeman Creek Setback Dear Mayor and Commissioners: On behalf of the Bozeman Hotel Owners’ Association (BHOA), I write to urge consistent enforcement of two well-established policies in the Bozeman Municipal Code that govern how downtown development occurs: (1) the requirement that new projects develop parking to meet new demand, and (2) the 35-foot setback from Bozeman Creek. Both policies were in effect when the applicant acquired the subject property and both continue to protect the long-term health, balance, and sustainability of Bozeman’s urban core. I.New Parking Demand Requires New Parking Capacity – Not Displacement of Existing Uses The Bozeman Municipal Code does not allow new developments to satisfy parking requirements by simply taking over parking currently relied upon by other, lawfully operating businesses. The Code instead requires that off-site parking be developed for the use it serves. This is made clear in BMC § 38.540.070.A, which provides: Any off-site parking used to meet the requirements of this chapter must be reviewed by the community development director for compliance with this chapter and will be subject to the following conditions: City of Bozeman August 4, 2025 Page 2 1. Off-site parking must be developed and maintained in compliance with all requirements and standards of this chapter; 2. Reasonable continuous pedestrian and vehicle access from off-site parking facilities to the use being served must be provided; [3 through 5 omitted] 6. Any use which depends upon off-site parking to meet the requirements of this chapter must maintain ownership or provide evidence of a long-term lease agreement, revocable with review authority approval, running with the term of the designated use, for parking utilization of the off-site location. The requirement that off-site parking be developed—not simply reassigned—has a clear purpose: to prevent one development from meeting its needs by depriving another of its code-mandated capacity. This is not an abstract concern. The Bozeman Hotel, a contributing property to the Downtown Historic District, currently relies on the Peterson Lot to satisfy its off-street parking obligation under the BMC. The Boutique Hotel applicant now proposes to reassign that same lot to serve its own parking requirement—without creating any new stalls and without documenting any lawful “shared parking” agreement under BMC § 38.540.060. Such an approach violates both the letter and purpose of the code. If the applicant does not develop new off-site parking and does not obtain a formal shared parking agreement, its application cannot lawfully be approved. II. Traffic Impact Study Fails to Disclose Net Parking Loss and Parking Displacement The Boutique Hotel’s Traffic Impact Study (TIS) compounds these problems by failing to acknowledge that the project site is currently used as parking. Instead, the TIS misleadingly describes the parcel as “currently undeveloped,” erasing real- world parking activity that supports neighboring businesses. Photographic evidence shows that the lot is in active use during evening peak hours and that available parking in the area is already at or above capacity. City of Bozeman August 4, 2025 Page 3 Despite this, the TIS: • Does not quantify how many existing stalls will be eliminated; • Does not acknowledge the prior or ongoing use of the Peterson Lot by the Bozeman Hotel; • Does not provide a net parking impact analysis, as required by BMC § 38.540.010, which prohibits approvals that would cause “spillover parking into adjacent neighborhoods.” Moreover, the TIS fails to model peak parking demand accurately and fails to address whether stalls are being double-counted between developments. These omissions render the parking analysis materially incomplete and cannot form the basis of lawful project approval. III. Bozeman Creek Setback Applies Equally and Protects Public Interests The second policy that must be consistently applied is the City’s stream setback requirement, which prohibits development within 35 feet of Bozeman Creek. The Boutique Hotel proposal would encroach as much as 30 feet into the setback, leaving only a 5-foot buffer from the creek in violation of the Code. The setback has been successfully applied to other downtown developments, including a prior project I was involved in just north of Babcock Street. There, the 35-foot buffer was preserved, and the final project was better for it—both functionally and aesthetically. Here, the developer is resourceful and experienced. He does not need to violate the creek setback to build a successful project. The public, on the other hand, stands to lose long-term flexibility for creek restoration, trail development, and flood resilience. IV. Conclusion: Enforce the Code Consistently and Transparently The City of Bozeman made two clear and sound planning choices: 1. New development must provide its own parking—by developing new supply or entering into a formal, approved shared parking agreement; and City of Bozeman August 4, 2025 Page 4 2. Development must respect a 35-foot buffer around Bozeman Creek to preserve ecological function and community resiliency. The applicant purchased the property with full knowledge of both requirements. These policies have been applied to others and must be applied again here. We urge the Commission to: 1. Reject or defer Application No. 24147 until the applicant submits a legally compliant parking plan, including a full net parking impact analysis; 2. Deny any credit for off-site parking unless newly developed or formally shared in accordance with BMC §§ 38.540.070 and 38.540.080; and 3. Require full compliance with the Bozeman Creek setback. Sincerely yours, John L. Amsden