HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-09-25 Public Comment - J. Rogers - Comment for Site Plan 25238From:John Rogers
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comment for Site Plan 25238
Date:Sunday, November 9, 2025 8:39:05 AM
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Dear City of Bozeman Community Development Division,
I am writing to express my concern with Site Plan #25238 and ask you to reject this plan until
modifications are made to follow the PUD and Master Plan.
I grew up in Bozeman just a few blocks from the lot where Site Plan #25238 is proposed. As a
longtime resident of South Bozeman and property owner in Sundance Springs I have watched
the character of our community rapidly change.
The circumstances surrounding Site Plan #25238 cannot be ignored. Your office approved the
original application in 2023. That approval was overturned by the City Commission in a 4 to 1
vote in 2024. Here we are again with a new application in 2025 that still does not follow the
PUD and Master Plan.
I am not opposed to growth and appreciate the challenges facing our community planners.
However, the city development division should reflect on their obligation to follow the law.
Your residents expect you to make fact-based, unemotional decisions that are in the best
interest of the community, not just in the best interest of every developer asking for exceptions
to the rules.
The list of departures from the approved site plan is captured well in the 200+ public
comments over the last 3 years, but here are a few examples that stand out for the latest
application:
-Two, two-story buildings totaling 10,000 sq feet are proposed by the applicant: This violates
the master plan, “only a single one-story, 5000 sq foot building is allowed”
-A patio with extensive outdoor seating is proposed: This violates the master plan, “no
patios and no outdoor business are allowed”)
-There is not enough parking with 51 spots proposed: This will undoubtably cause a public
safety hazard as vehicles spill onto the narrow residential streets of Sundance
Springs and the surrounding neighborhoods. In 2023, the Bozeman Fire Marshall
identified the approval of 43 parking spots in the previous application for this site as
a “safety hazard" that will restrict safe access to our homes and provide inadequate
passage for emergency response. If you approve this application as submitted, you
are putting the public and our first responders at unnecessary risk.
I am not opposed to developing this site for its original, approved intent: a one-story “village
store” that provides a value-added service to the surrounding neighborhoods. Clearly there
was a lot of thought put into that design when the subdivision was originally approved. The
positive impact of a village store is well understood by longtime South Bozeman residents who
frequent the Kagy Korner Store, a “village store" design that has served the surrounding
neighborhoods since the 1980s.
I expect the community development director to follow the law. The PUD development
guidelines and master plan are not optional and cannot be selectively interpreted. Do not
approve application 25238 until it is compliant with the PUD and Master Plan.
Regards,
John Rogers
Lot 92, Sundance Springs