HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-20-25 Public Comment - C. Nixon - RE_ The Idaho Pole Company L-Street Annexation and Zone Map Amendment application #25360From:Planning Technician
To:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:FW: [EXTERNAL]RE: The Idaho Pole Company L-Street Annexation and Zone Map Amendment application #25360
Date:Wednesday, November 19, 2025 9:20:03 AM
Attachments:image.pngimage.png
Public comment for 25360 Annexation. Sam Sagstetter
Technician III | Community DevelopmentCity of Bozeman | 20 East Olive St. | Bozeman, MT 59715P: 406.582.2964 | E: ssagstetter@bozeman.net | W: www.bozeman.net/planning
CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS (Front Counter @ 20 East Olive, 59715):
Open: M, W, F: 9 AM – 4 PM; & T, TH: 9 AM – 1 PM
From: Andy and Paulette Epple <bigskyepples@msn.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 9:37 PM
To: Agenda@bozeman.net
Cc: Planning <Planning@BOZEMAN.NET>; thansen@sanbell.com; gregM@cdrmgt.com; danal@cdrmgt.com
Subject: [EXTERNAL]RE: The Idaho Pole Company L-Street Annexation and Zone Map Amendment application #25360
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.
Dear Mayor Cunningham and members of the Commission,
Sacajawea Audubon Society (SAS) has become aware of the L Street Annexation and Zone Map Amendment application
#25360. We would like to bring to your attention our concerns regarding the existing mature cottonwood and aspen
trees currently on the property and the riparian habitat along the East Gallatin River. In particular, we encourage you to
require the developer to preserve these important natural features: the stand of mature cottonwood trees on the north
end of the property; the largest stands of aspen in the south half of the property; and the riparian vegetation along the
river with proper wetland and stream setbacks determined by the best available science.
As you are aware, Bozeman has lost many stands of mature trees to development in recent years. We encourage you to
reverse this trend by implementing policies and regulations found in Bozeman’s Community Plan 2020 and Municipal
Code to save remaining natural features and critical lands. The newly adopted Gallatin Valley Sensitive Lands Protection
Plan states “On-site native plants and mature trees should be preserved to the maximum extent possible.” The
annexation and development of the L-Street property provide us all with an excellent opportunity to do just that.
This property provides important habitat for a wide variety of songbirds, raptors, and mammals, all while sequestering
carbon. In recent years, the mature cottonwoods along the north edge of the property have hosted a successful red-
tailed hawk nest. These mature cottonwoods and the larger patches of aspen in the south section also provide homes to
a variety of woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, wrens, and orioles. American Dippers feed in this section of the East
Gallatin River, and the existing riparian habitat of native shrubs, willows and aspen provide nesting and feeding habitat for
a variety of songbirds including catbirds and warblers. When protected through the development process, these habitats
and shady groves of trees will also provide valuable recreation opportunities for nearby residents to connect to nature.
Saving these trees and preserving vegetation in the river corridor as this property develops is certainly feasible as well-
over half of the acreage is flat and open. We encourage the City to require that future development of this property be
clustered in ways to concentrate density in these open areas while saving the existing stands of mature trees and the
riparian corridor. Please consider including this kind of requirement as part of the terms and conditions of the
Annexation Agreement.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the proposed annexation and anticipated development of the L Street
property. It is our hope that by commenting early in the design process, rather than waiting until well-developed plans
for the area have already been more or less finalized, we can positively influence the design and save mature trees and
riparian habitat from being destroyed.
Sacajawea Audubon Society is a non-profit grassroots membership organization, serving the northern Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem of Montana since 1967. We have approximately 1000 members and are a chapter of the National
Audubon Society. SAS builds on an interest in birds to promote the conservation of our natural environment through
enjoyment, education, and action.
If you have any questions or wish further information from the Sacajawea Audubon Society concerning this matter, please
contact one of our Conservation Committee Co-Chairs, Paulette Epple or Lou Ann Harris at the email addresses listed
below.
Sincerely,
Chris Nixon, President
Paulette Epple, Conservation Co-chair, conservation@sacajaweaaudubon.org
Lou Ann Harris, Conservation Co-chair, louann@sacajaweaaudubon.org
Cc: Bozeman Community Development Planning Division
Property owner, Idaho Pole Company, attention: Greg McFarland and Dana LaBrie
Thomas Hansen, Sanbell
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________
Board Members: Chris Nixon * Doug McSpadden * Mikaela Howie * Loreene Reid * John Edwards * Emma Narotzky * Aaron
Clausen * Vicki Saab * Frank Marchak *
Ken Sinay * Ben Goodheart * Hallie Nienhaus * Bret Davis