HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-17-25 Public Comment - J. Webster - Bon Ton ZoningFrom:jwebster587@gmail.com
To:Henry Happel; delmue; Jennifer Madgic; Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:Terry Cunningham; Joey Morrison; Douglas Fischer; Emma Bode; Chuck Winn; Erin George; Chris Saunders
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bon Ton Zoning
Date:Monday, November 17, 2025 9:38:12 AM
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.
Good Day CDB Members, (as well as City Commissioners and City Staff),
We’re on the homestretch for the final UDC recommendations and I’m sure we all are looking
forward to putting energy into new initiatives. Thank you CDB for the opportunity for one last
round of Public Comment. While a member of the City’s HPAB, I represent only myself here.
To the City Clerk: Please forward on to all CDB members as I do not have all of their email
address. Thank you.
When we all started this discussion months ago, I remember well when Forward Montana
(FM) member Anja Lincke, got up at a Commission meeting in early May and talked about
“gentle infill” for the Bon Ton/Centennial Park Neighnorhoods and our neighborhood has
embraced this. Anja and I met a few times in May and June and we hosted a neighborhood
walk for her and two other FM members at that time as well. We have always maintained a
most civil relationship over discussion on this topic.
City Staff’s Modified RA recommendation that allows for homes that are at least 35 years
old, to be remodeled to up to 4 units with an allowable 25% increase in the footprint of the
structure, is an excellent option. Starting off as being informally referred to as “RA and-a-
half,” this option was first discussed on a neighborhood walk with Commissioners Douglas
Fischer and Emma Bode, in June and a productive conversation followed at the conclusion of
our walk. City Staff’s recommendation followed later that drew from this concept. The other
so called, “Modified RA” option that is “RA by Right” is not an acceptable option for Bon Ton as
it would allow demolition of a home if desired, in order to build a totally new structure. This
flies in the face of what the Bon Ton Neighborhood exemplifies – a Historic District that was
designated some 40 years ago and containing “some of the finest examples of Bozeman’s
residential architectural inventory according to the 2019 BendonAdams Report mentioned
further below.
Many Bon Ton neighbors have acknowledged the District’s Historic status as the reason
they bought homes there. To encourage potential zoning that undermines this, goes
completely against the forces that created it. Consultants Chris Bendon and Sara Adams in
June 2019, submitted a report to the City that they had been hired to produce, to help with
“Final NCOD Policy Direction,” which was the title of their report. Why would we want to
introduce forces now that would send the City backwards, as it looks to engage with the
Lakota Group in the very near future, to update the NCOD guidelines? Present CDB members:
Happel, Egge and Madgic, along with Commissioner, (now Mayor) Cunningham, are listed at
the beginning of the BendonAdams report. The neighborhood appreciates that you have had
some good previous exposure to topics surrounding the preservation of neighborhoods and
hope you will draw on that again as you consider these two neighborhood proposals.
One member of the CDB referred to the Bon Ton as “not pulling its weight” at the Nov 3rd
CDB meeting. Presumably, this was in reference to the neighborhood’s present density.
Recently on Sunday Nov 9th, another walk was hosted of the Bon Ton that included CDB
member Delmue and Mayor Cunningham. We felt that this this would provide helpful context
for these two gentlemen and again, another productive conversation ensued afterwards. In
the end, it certainly appeared that all parties benefitted by an eye-witness account of the
neighborhood as it was clearly shown that the forces of “Gentle Infill,” had been working their
magic on the Bob Ton , over the years. This has also been going on in Centennial Park
Neighborhood as well
Another south-side resident summed it up as “The CDB is gambling with our
neighborhoods!” No one likes to entertain that thought and we hope that reasonable minds
will prevail in the end. To sum it all up and I appreciate his mention of this back on October
20th at a CDB meeting, Board Chair Henry Happel, addressed all of us in the room on that
Monday night with the comment,
“If I were in Mr. Webster’s shoes, I would be doing exactly the same thing!”
Respectfully,
Jim
Jim Webster
Bon Ton Neighborhood
Bozeman, MT