HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-25 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - UDC Update - CC mtng. 12_2_25From:Marcia Kaveney
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]UDC Update - CC mtng. 12/2/25
Date:Sunday, November 30, 2025 5:25:11 PM
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 and Commissioners-
As you approach your last work session on the 2025 UDC Update, I urge you to take to heart
the many thoughtful comments you have received from the residents who are striving to findbalance in their neighborhoods between the demand for new housing, the City's interest in new
commercial districts, and the goal of maintaining some semblance of neighborhoodcharacteristics and affordability.
I think a slower, more deliberate and truly incremental approach to growth would allow for
better planning between involved parties and I think that the existing historic neighborhoodsshould have heavy involvement in those discussions. I think it is largely in the older
neighborhoods that you find the folks that have shouldered much of the volunteering effortsand financial contributions needed in town, from advisory boards, to school PACs and
classroom help, to Sweet Pea activities, and other charitable fund-drives. Until the recentgrowth bloomed to the west of the city center in the last decade, the downtown core and
other nearby established neighborhoods and school districts is where the City pulled its citizeninvolvement. Please take care to keep the residents of these core residential districts at the
center of your UDC decisions.
I have read and am in agreement with Midtown Neighborhood Associations UDC commentsas submitted on Nov. 18, 2025.
I would like to add that I think B1 is a much more neighborhood friendly zone for
neighborhood commercial than B2M which ultimately, does not require commercial spaces. Itis another guise for slipping high density into a neighborhood where it does not fit.
I agree with Midtown's recommendation to re-establish the Community Development Board’s
biannual UDC review to allow for sensible and timely edits.
I have read and am in agreement with all of the Bozeman Tree Coalition's suggestions,especially their most recent submission of November 30, 2025.
I would like to add that I support any decisions to shrink and slow the annexations to the city
edges in an effort to allow for better infrastructure management and affordability.
I have read and am in agreement the Better Bozeman Coalition's zone map and textamendment suggestions submitted in November, including the following additions:
1). Remove the loophole in the Zone Edge Transition code that would allow developers to
cede a few feet or even inches to increase the right-of-way, thereby getting out of building theactual transition.
2). Cap height in the B-3 zone at 60 feet as required by state law SB-243, and ONLY awardextra height through the AHO incentives, so that we get affordable housing.
3). Keep the Bon Ton and Centennial Park neighborhoods as R-A, the way they are shown in
the proposed map, while adopting the Existing Building Alternative to allow structures over35 years old to internally divide into 4 units.
4). Add the word "maximum" to the section of code in 38.410.010.B Natural Environment, per
the Bozeman Tree Coalitions recommendations. Our Sensitive Lands Plan actually uses thislanguage, so it should be incorporated in code.
5). Require new and relocating frats and sororities to have a single gathering space that
accommodates a minimum of 70 people. We should aim to avoid conflicts we've seen in thepast so that both residential neighborhoods and Greek Houses can thrive.
6). Gallatin Watershed Council has made many workable suggestions for improving the
UDC. Please require an aquatic resource delineation report at pre-application as well as otherrecommendations from their public comment submitted November 21st.
7). Please incorporate some of the recommendations from the Midtown Neighborhood
Association detailed in their public comment, including those with regards to zoning mapconflicts, parkland dedication, and transportation standards in code.
8). Do not expand the B-3 zoning district to East Curtiss. The neighbors have submitted
many interesting histories of their homes, which they have lovingly restored or renovatedunder strict Historic Preservation Guidelines, and with considerable expense. Expanding B-3
could result in negative impacts to this historic district, especially if the zone edge transitionloophole remains!
Thank you for considering these comments,
Marcia Kaveney
Bozeman resident