HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-19-25 Public Comment - A. Linke - About the UDC_ natural resources, mass+ scale.From:Anja Lincke
To:Jennifer Madgic; Joey Morrison; Emma Bode; Terry Cunningham; Douglas Fischer
Cc:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL][SENDER UNVERIFIED]About the UDC: natural resources, mass+ scale.
Date:Tuesday, August 19, 2025 11:34:21 AM
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Good afternoon commissioners,
Ahead of today’s meeting, I wanted to share some thoughts, resources, and learnings
that I have been reflecting on as the UDC conversation continues.
First, I wanted to share this video that illuminated an important truth we must reckon
with: it is fiscally irresponsible, and burdensome for future generations of
taxpayers to sprawl. Suburbia is Subsidized: Here's the Math [ST07]
Beyond that, we have many other reasons to move away from sprawl: it is disastrous
for our wildlife corridors, pollutes our air, deepens car dependence, increases wildfire
risk, uses more water, and diminishes existing community services, to name a few.
Here are a few of the sources I've looked at:
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/urban/pdfs/The-True-Cost-of-
Sprawl-report.pdf
We can’t beat the climate crisis without rethinking land use | Brookings
“We need to undo decades of bad habits, returning to traditional people-
centered neighborhood designs and incorporating forward-looking building
technologies that promote more sustainable and equitable living. It’s a
generational lift—and time is running out.”
Speaking of car dependence, Bozeman was not always like this. We had a thriving
electric rail system that created accessible and connected transportation throughout
this valley. Our car dependence was and continues to be a choice.
https://bozemanmagazine.com/articles/2016/06/01/102218-bozemans-historic-trolley-
car-system
If we are going to commit to both meeting our current and future housing needs, AND
mitigating our impact on the environment, compact development is key— and I
believe we can do that in a beautiful, connected, and equitable way. The UDC is a
critical tool, and the decisions you all make in the coming months will make a lasting
impact on our community and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, for better or
worse.
I continue to be excited about the opportunity with the graduated square foot cap to
limit the size and amount of new single-family homes, while allowing for gently scaled
incremental density. This can help us gradually create more compact development at
a scale more accessible for our community to be a part of.
I understand the pushback this commission is receiving because of the increase in
larger-scale development over the last 5 years. It feels clear to me that part of how we
got into this situation was because Bozeman got really behind, which created the
conditions for developers to build as fast as they could. My hope is that we can step
out of this vicious boom-bust cycle and enable our community to deliver our housing
needs in a much more community-oriented way, but that will not happen if we do not
allow that in a meaningful way through our code.
The GSFC tool becomes dramatically less effective with restrictive unit caps,
and I would urge the commission to reconsider the direction you all gave about RA
and RB being limited to 2 (+ADU) and 8 units, respectively. I have heard this
commission indicate strong support for a form-based code, and this was a decisive
move away from that direction.
I think the concern about redevelopment of viable existing homes is valid, especially
when it comes to folks who are renting and have no agency about what and when the
changes to their homes occur.
Often I hear unit caps talked about as a tool to prevent redevelopment that displaces
people. Unit caps are ineffective in preventing displacement caused by
redevelopment, and arguably risk making things worse. If preventing redevelopment
is the goal, there seem to be more precise ways to go about that. For example, allow
for significant flexibility around adding units to a building or parcel, but make
developers prove that a structure is no longer viable before complete demolition.
When I walked around the Bon Ton neighborhood, it seemed like a number of
properties did this type of development. There was one single family home in
particular that I believe ( my memory could be wrong) had been added on to be
turned into a triplex, each containing 5 bedrooms, making a home for 15 residents.
(301 W story).
If nothing else, I think the commission should consider allowing at least 4 units in RA
and 12 in RB to facilitate building some of the more affordable forms of housing.
Allowing for a gradual increase in density across our neighborhoods, rather than
concentrating our demand on a few parts of town, is critical for a sustainable,
efficient, more equitable, and financially solvent city, and will not lead to skyrocketing
property values (see this strong towns article: What Would Mass Upzoning *Actually*
Do to Property Values?) . Spreading the demand across our community is key to
stepping out of the aforementioned boom bust cycle, giving our community the tools
to more directly respond to our housing needs, and is how we are blunting massive
bursts of development frenzy in a way that doesn’t leave our most vulnerable without
a place to go.
In summary:
Sprawl is inefficient, unsustainable, and fiscally irresponsible
Compact development is key
Graduated square foot caps still seem like a good tool, but would become pretty
ineffective with restrictive unit caps.
Unit caps are not a precise tool to prevent redevelopment, and we can do
better.
Spreading our housing needs across our community through mass gradual
upzoning is important to getting us to more community grounded and gradual
growth, moving us away from cycles of disproportionate change.
I hope and urge this commission to make decisions with the most vulnerable of our
people in mind while planning for a more sustainable, equitable, and affordable future.
Our community depends on it.
Looking forward to hearing discussion.
Anja Lincke
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Anja Lincke
She/They | Housing Campaign Manager
c: (907)205-0196e: anja@forwardmontana.orgw: forwardmontana.orgcreated with MySignature.io