HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-24-25 Public Comment - D. Perlstein - Please Oppose the B-3 Expansion on East Curtiss – Keep the Current BoundaryFrom:Dp
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:Terry Cunningham; Jennifer Madgic; Joey Morrison; Emma Bode; Douglas Fischer
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Please Oppose the B-3 Expansion on East Curtiss – Keep the Current Boundary
Date:Sunday, November 23, 2025 4:30:02 PM
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Hello Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Commissioners, and Community
Development Department-
My name is David Perlstein, and I’ve lived in my home on the South
Tracy/South Black block for 25 years. I share an alley with the city’s
Planning Department building and live directly adjacent to the properties
proposed for B-3 expansion.
I strongly oppose the proposed B-3 zoning expansion and ask that you
maintain the current B-3 boundary. However, I would support transitioning
the church property and surrounding parcels to a higher-density residential
zoning, which better reflects the neighborhood’s historic use and provides a
more compatible, predictable transition into this long-established
residential district.
When I purchased my home, Planning Director Andy Epple assured me
that rezoning in this area would not happen. That message was repeated by
every staff member I’ve spoken to over the years. Based on that
understanding, I recently invested in a full renovation of my home —
something I would not have done had I expected a high-intensity
commercial use to be dropped next door.
This neighborhood has always been a quiet mix of restored homes and
the church. B-3 upzoning — which allows for Black/Olive type buildings,
bars, hotels, and dense mixed-use development — is simply incompatible
with that context and history.
Since the city took over the building next door, I’ve seen what B-3
intensity really means: the alley is busier, the parking lots are always full,
and much of that parking is leased from the church — not city-owned. If
the church is redeveloped, those spots disappear and what is the backup
plan?
Meanwhile, the city hasn’t modeled the impact of its own operations
here. More staff and traffic have already strained the infrastructure. No
landscaping or alley improvements were made — the kinds of upgrades the
city would demand from any private developer who intensified the usage of
existing building. The sidewalk along the west side (Tracy Ave) is cracked
and unsafe — just watch an elderly neighbor or someone with a stroller try
to navigate it. Why isn’t the city holding itself to the same standard it
enforces on residents?
Most importantly, this proposal has moved forward without
neighborhood input, without formal notice, and without clarity. None of my
neighbors were aware of the proposed expansion until just last week. No
signage was posted. No mailers were sent. There has been no transparency
— and that’s deeply disappointing.
The explanation that the recently adopted code update served as our
notice is not acceptable. Many of us work long hours just to afford to live
here. We rely on the city’s established public notice process — signs,
letters, community alerts — to understand and respond to major zoning
changes. That process failed here. None of us had a fair chance to weigh in.
This process has been frustrating, and honestly hurtful, especially with
the Planning Department as our neighbor. We expected better
communication and more accountability.
Bozeman’s Growth Policy and Unified Development Code emphasize
predictability, compatible infill, and the preservation of neighborhood
character. This change does none of those things. It undermines trust and
threatens the very values the city claims to uphold.
At a time when trust in local government matters more than ever, this
kind of backdoor rezoning — without study, without engagement, and
without clear justification — sends the wrong message. We are not anti-
growth. We are pro-process. Respecting the public process, and the
promises made to those who followed it, is the foundation of good planning
and good neighbors.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
David Perlstein
10 East Olive
Bozeman, MT
davidperlstein@gmail.com
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