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Home My WebLink About12-01-25 Public Comment - G. Garrigues - Comment for City Commision Meeting 2-Dec 2025 RE_ UDCFrom:Greg Garrigues To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comment for City Commision Meeting 2-Dec 2025 RE: UDC Date:Monday, December 1, 2025 1:35:22 PM Attachments:20251201_Garrigues_UDC_Comment.pdf 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. Hello Bozeman City Commission- Enclosed are comments RE: the UDC for the Commission meeting on 2-Dec 2025. Best regards- -Greg Garrigues M: +1-406-581-1208 This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e- mail from your system. RE: Comment on UDC Draft — Fraternity and Sorority Assembly Space Requirements 1-December 2025 Dear Bozeman Commissioners, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Unified Development Code. I appreciate the significant work that has gone into this document, and the clear intent to modernize standards in a way that aligns with state legislation and Bozeman’s long-term planning goals. I am writing in reference to the section governing fraternities and sororities, specifically the assembly space requirement: “Must provide one or more assembly space(s) internal to a building adequate in size to accommodate not less than 90% of the enrolled members of the fraternity or sorority at the time the use is approved by the City, but not less than 40 persons.” I want to first commend the City for including this provision. It correctly recognizes that fraternity and sorority housing is not conventional residential housing. These organizations rely on shared governance, programming, philanthropy, training, and structured development activities — all of which require the ability to convene as a full membership body. However, I respectfully request one adjustment: Increase the minimum assembly space capacity from 40 persons to 70 persons. Why 70, Not 40, Reflects Reality: At Montana State University: •According to MSU’s data, the average chapter size is approximately 85 members •The largest chapter is near 120 members •University policy permits registered social events (parties) at a 3:1 guest-to-member ratio These organizations are not designed to remain small. Even when a chapter is rebuilding or newly forming with fewer residents, the goal — and the requirement for operational stability — is to reach what is widely recognized as a functional membership level of approximately 85 active students. A minimum assembly size of 40 assumes small is normal. It is not. Small is temporary. Planning around a temporary early condition rather than the intended long-term scale guarantees future conflict, expensive retrofits, and operational strain. In contrast, planning for 70 occupants does several things: • It accommodates a working majority of members for required programming. • It aligns with observed organizational scale. • It reduces spillover gatherings in hallways, basements, or unregulated locations. • It supports neighborhood predictability and enforceability. Addressing the Concern That A 70-Person Room Is “Inhibiting”: Some feedback during recent discussion suggested that requiring an assembly space for 70 people may feel burdensome, overly large, or unrealistic for emerging Greek organizations — and that 40 is a more comfortable or achievable number. I see this in the opposite light: An assembly space of 40 is a structural guarantee of future failure of a Greek house. An assembly space for 70 creates the conditions for long-term success. A room capped at 40 ensures that even basic, non-social, non-event functions — such as membership meetings, officer voting, academic programming, or new-member orientation — must occur in fragmented or improvised spaces, or off-site altogether. If the purpose of zoning is to support compatible, regulated, safe, and foreseeable use — then designing buildings so they cannot hold the people who are meant to live and meet in them directly undermines that purpose. Based on observed MSU chapter capacity norms, the number that aligns most closely with the intended 90% threshold in the current draft is actually: 76 people (≈90% of 85-member average chapter size). Seventy therefore is not excessive — it is a midpoint between feasibility and correctness. Good Planning Should Look Forward, Not Backward: A fraternity or sorority house designed for its mature, intended population: • requires fewer operational variances, • causes less conflict with adjacent uses, • is easier to regulate and supervise, • is safer from a fire and egress perspective, and • is more stable over time. An undersized facility will not reduce gatherings — only relocate them to less predictable, less regulated environments. Recommendation: I respectfully request the following revision: “Must provide assembly space(s) internal to the building adequate for at least 90% of enrolled members and not less than 70 persons.” If the Commission prefers numeric alignment with observed chapter averages, an alternate but equally defensible minimum would be: “...not less than 76 persons.” Either approach preserves the intent of the current draft while ensuring the provision is meaningful in practice. Closing: Fraternities and sororities contribute significantly to leadership development, philanthropy, civic engagement, and community identity at Montana State University. The draft code takes an important step toward recognizing their unique functional needs. With a minor adjustment to reflect realistic chapter capacity, the City can support safe, predictable, and successful outcomes — for both the students who will live in these facilities and the neighborhoods in which they exist. Thank you for your consideration and for your continued work on this critical planning effort. Respectfully submitted, Greg Garrigues 1113 S. 5th Ave Bozeman, MT 59715 greggarrigues@gmail.com