HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-25 Public Comment - J. Boles - Centennial Park Public CommentFrom:Jennifer Boles
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Centennial Park Public Comment
Date:Friday, November 28, 2025 2:54:58 PM
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Dear Community Development Board,
I am writing as a renter living in a small triplex in the Centennial Park neighborhood. As a recently
hired professional at MSU, I arrived in Bozeman from a major city and faced drastically higher rents
and little inventory except luxury apartments that consumed more than 40% of my income. I have
already moved twice at great expense, and I was fortunate to finally land in a neighborhood that
prides itself on community, green space, walkability, and housing access for people across income
brackets, especially those of us supporting dependents on single, modest incomes, with no realistic
chance of ever buying a home.
My fear is that the proposed zoning changes will put homes like mine at risk of being torn down for
larger, high-end developments that would push us out of the neighborhood and possibly out of
Bozeman altogether. The naturally occurring affordable housing we have now, including older
triplexes, duplexes, and modest apartments like mine, is exactly the kind of housing Bozeman is
losing fastest and cannot easily replace. Once these buildings are gone, what will replace them? I
want to build a life here, but if this is Bozeman's future, then I, and countless others who cannot
afford homes or luxury apartments, do not belong here.
Our neighborhood is already doing the very thing the city says it wants: providing a mix of housing
types for different kinds of residents. Walk down one block and you’ll see dense apartment
buildings, multi-family complexes, modest single-family homes, and larger homes with ADUs.
Incremental density is already working here, and affordability already exists. These are the kinds of
neighborhoods we should be bolstering and modeling—sustainable, diverse, healthy, and resilient,
while supporting gentle, smart density that makes the area even more vibrant and welcoming.
There is also questionable evidence that the “build, build, build” mentality reliably filters down into
true affordability without displacement. In neighborhoods like ours, redevelopment often comes first
and affordability comes…never(?). I do not believe the intention of the CDC’s recommendation is to
push people out or reduce affordability, but that is exactly what this kind of zoning threatens to do in
practice. I do support additional affordable housing and thoughtful density in our neighborhood, but
not in a way that displaces people and transforms an already thriving, diverse, and sustainable
community.
I believe we should preserve the density and affordability we already have while inviting sustainable
forms of infill that strengthen the neighborhood rather than destabilize it. As my neighbors have
emphasized, Centennial Park cannot absorb large-scale redevelopment without serious impacts on
safety, walkability, our prized trees, and general livability. Let’s protect what’s working instead of
triggering displacement in one of the few attainable central neighborhoods left. I support my
neighbors and their long-standing advocacy on this issue and urge you to do the same.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Boles