HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-26-25 Public Comment - Z. Osman - Public Comment on 8_26_25 Commission Work Session on UDCFrom:Zehra Osman
To:Terry Cunningham; Joey Morrison; Jennifer Madgic; Emma Bode; Douglas Fischer; Erin George; Chris Saunders;Takami Clark; Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on 8/26/25 Commission Work Session on UDC
Date:Monday, August 25, 2025 1:22:32 PM
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(Please place these comments into the public record for the UDC Update)
Honorable Mayor Cunningham, Deputy Mayor Morrison, Commissioners Madgic, Bode, and Fischer, Erin
George, Chris Saunders, and Takami Clark,
I am submitting my comments on this week’s UDC work session regarding wall plate heights and otherUDC-related comments:
1. I strongly recommend a wall plate height for new construction in R-A to be limited to 20 feet.
Twenty feet wall plate height allows plenty of flexibility and opportunities within R-A zones. Here’s
why:
a. Higher density (i.e. taller/larger buildings) within Bozeman’s Core:
Has not and does not lead to more opportunities for affordable housing (i.e. there are
no examples of this)
Has not and does not prevent sprawl that would otherwise consume undeveloped land
(i.e. there are no examples of this)
Is comprised of only expensive housing that displaces residents further out into the
areas of sprawl
Has never yielded affordable housing units
Has only demolished our historic buildings one-by-one and adversely impacted our
green space, and trees
b. If higher density (i.e. taller/larger buildings) within Bozeman’s Core actually did lead
to more opportunities for affordable housing, we would not currently be witnessing the
construction of ONLY expensive housing within Bozeman’s core.
c. There is NO example of how higher density (i.e. taller/larger buildings) has actually
lead to more opportunities for affordable housing in Bozeman.
d. There is a debunked myth that purports that increased density within Bozeman’s core
will lead to more supply, which will then lead to affordable housing. This myth is
based on the idea that housing “trickles-down” to the local workforce. There are no
examples of this kind of benefit happening in Bozeman. We only have housing
that is too expensive to our local workforce.
e. Higher density (i.e. taller buildings) within Bozeman’s Core has ONLY benefitted real
estate investment company shareholders and developers, NOT the local population of
Bozeman.
f. Real estate investment companies and developers do not care it buildings are occupied
because when you trade real estate on Wall Street, it doesn’t matter if the real estate is
occupied.
0. Pretending We Don’t Need Cars Because We’re Pretending We Already Have a Public Transit
System: Before we keep zoning, planning, and designing as if we already have a reliable and robust
public transit system, let’s actually create a real public transit system. Until then, people will need
to have cars. In fact, each working-age person in a household will need to have a car to go to work.
Families with kids will need to go to doctors appointments and after-school functions and the
Streamline doesn’t help these needs. Montanans have the kind of lifestyle that gets them out beyond
the existing Streamline. I love the Streamline. But we can’t pretend it constitutes an actual reliable
and comprehensive public transit system.
0. Neighborhood-Scale Commercial: Please create walkable communities throughout Bozeman and
not just in Bozeman’s core and in Midtown. For communities to actually be walkable, there needs to
be destinations people normally walk to on a daily basis. This includes a truly neighborhood-scale
commercial zone that contains 2-story neighborhood grocery, daycare, studio space, small work
spaces, coffee shops, etc. This DOES NOT mean B-1 zoning should be anywhere near
neighborhoods because the mass and scale allowed is too big at 4 stories and these buildings cater to
real estate investment companies rather than local entrepreneurs. So we need to tailor B-1 in the
new UDC to this purpose.
Finally, with regards to last week’s work session on the protection of natural resources, the community
development staff (maybe inadvertently) severely limited commission and public discussion and decisions
by setting up work session questions that restricted discussion and decisions. This was inappropriate for anundertaking and related issue of this magnitude. So going forward: before the commission accepts the City
staff’s work session decision questions, please have the staff justify to the commission and the public how
their questions for decisions are appropriate for the issues at hand. The city commission is lucky to have
such an engaged constituency that participate in the democratic process. Let’s embrace this participation
with work session decision questions that truly address the issue at hand.
Respectfully,
Zehra Osman
West Side Bozeman Resident 59718