HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-15-25 Public Comment - J. Amsden - Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board - Aug 20 2025 meetingFrom:John Amsden
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board - Aug 20 2025 meeting
Date:Friday, August 15, 2025 2:11:19 PM
Attachments:25-0815 Amsden to Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board 20 Aug 2025 mtg.pdf
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Beck, Amsden &
Stalpes pllc
610 Professional Drive
Bozeman, MT 59718
JOHN L. AMSDEN
PARTNER
Tel: 406-586-8700
Amsden@becklawyers.com
August 15, 2025
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board
121 N. Rouse Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59715
comments@bozeman.net
Re: Comment to the Bozeman Historic Preservation Advisory Board
Public Meeting August 30, 2025
Chair and Members,
I speak today as an owner and steward of a major contributing property in the
Downtown Historic District — the Bozeman Hotel.
Our city’s historic preservation goals are undermined when public policy or
development approvals reduce the economic viability of existing historic buildings.
The recent City Commission approval of the Boutique Hotel on Mendenhall
illustrates this risk.
Two points from that case are critical for this Board’s consideration:
1. Loss of Essential Parking for a Historic Building
o The Boutique Hotel was approved without developing new off-site
parking, instead reassigning the Peterson Lot — parking that the
Bozeman Hotel relies on to meet its own code requirements —
without a lawful shared-parking agreement.
o This does not just inconvenience tenants; it raises the cost of retaining
and attracting the businesses that keep historic buildings full and
maintained.
City of Bozeman
August 15, 2025
Page 2
2. Precedent That Shifts Advantage to New Construction
o New developments without proportional infrastructure burden older
buildings with competitive disadvantages they cannot absorb without
major subsidy.
o Over time, this erodes the financial foundation for maintaining
historic fabric, forcing owners toward under-investment or even sale
and redevelopment.
The Historic Preservation Advisory Board’s mandate is not limited to reviewing
façades. The economic sustainability of a building is as essential to its preservation
as its brickwork. The downtown district’s contributing structures survive because
they can be leased and operated successfully under current market conditions.
When approvals ignore that balance, the preservation outcome is foreordained:
historic buildings will be neglected or altered beyond recognition.
I urge the Board to:
• Formally recognize that land-use decisions which impair the revenue-
producing capacity of contributing properties are a threat to preservation.
• Recommend to the City Commission and Planning Department that any
development in the Historic District or its environs demonstrate that it will
not displace required parking or otherwise materially impair the operations
of existing historic resources.
• Advocate for parking, access, and setback policies to be enforced
consistently, so that historic properties are not placed at a competitive
disadvantage to new construction.
If we value these landmarks, we must protect not only their appearance but their
ability to function as viable, occupied, income-producing properties. Without that,
our historic assets will be preserved only in photographs.
Sincerely yours,
John L. Amsden