HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-02-25 Public Comment - D. Loseff - Please see the Bozeman Hotel HOA objection to the 90' height limit in B-3From:David Loseff
To:Terry Cunningham; Jennifer Madgic; Douglas Fischer; Emma Bode; Joey Morrison; Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:Alison Sweeney; John Amsden; John Amsden
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Please see the Bozeman Hotel HOA objection to the 90" height limit in B-3
Date:Tuesday, December 2, 2025 2:22:53 AM
Attachments:BHOA Objection to Increasing Height Limit for Downtown Bozeman 1 Dec 2025.pdf
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Mayor and City Commissioners,
Please find attached a public comment letter from John Amsden and the Bozeman Hotel HOAobjecting to the proposed 90' height allowance in the new UDC. Also, John makes a great
point in outlining the Bozeman Hotel and the Baxter being the two bookends of our historicdowntown Main Street area. While you have already received my public comment letter
opposing this proposed 90' height allowance in my personal capacity, after reviewing John'scomment letter, I want to add that I am making this objection on behalf of the entire Baxter
HOA as well of which my company controls 98% and I am president of the Baxter HOA.David Loseff
JOHN AMSDEN 1
BOZEMAN HOTEL OWNERS’ ASSOCIATION
321 East Main Street
Bozeman, MT 59715
December 1, 2025
To: Mayor Terry Cunningham and City Commissioners
City of Bozeman
121 North Rouse Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59715
RE: Objection to Proposed 90-Foot Maximum Height in the B-3 Downtown District
Formal Objection to Proposed B-3 Height Increase
The Bozeman Hotel Owners’ Association (BHOA) respectfully objects to the proposed
amendment to the Unified Development Code (UDC) that would raise the as-of-right maximum
building height in the B-3 downtown zoning district to 90 feet. This policy change would be
incompatible with Bozeman’s historic urban form, architectural identity, and the long-term
integrity of the Main Street Historic District.
I. The Bozeman and Baxter Hotels Frame Downtown’s Historic Core
The Bozeman Hotel (1890) and Baxter Hotel (1929) are the two tallest and most prominent
historic structures in Bozeman’s Main Street Historic District. They act as architectural anchors
at the east and west ends of downtown. This relationship is not incidental—it is formalized in
the National Register of Historic Places listing for the district, which describes it as:
“...a primary anchor on the district’s east end... its continuous commercial use as
hotel, restaurant, and office space illustrates Bozeman’s evolution from railroad
town to modern downtown hub.”
Historical evidence supports the unique and valuable nature of Bozeman’s
downtown core.
JOHN AMSDEN 2
Photo 1: 1890s Bozeman City Scape: The following picture shows The Bozeman Hotel and the downtown corrider
soon after its’ construction. Note the restrained height, human proportions and early grandeur. This is the feeling
and context nearly every visitor and resident holds dear.
:
Photo 2: The Baxter Hotel’s entry into the historic Bozeman downtown corridor. The following pictures
shows Bozeman’s downtown core after the Baxter’s (relatively recent) construction.
JOHN AMSDEN 3
This visual relationship—flanking the historic downtown corridor—is intentional, proportional,
and historically significant. By allowing a 90-foot maximum height across the B-3 district, the
City would upend this symmetry, diminish both hotels’ prominence, and undermine the
planning framework that has preserved Bozeman’s historic core for over a century.
II. 90-Foot Buildings Are Incompatible with Historic Scale
Bozeman’s historic downtown has flourished under a 60–70 foot general height envelope, with
massing that respects view corridors, daylight access, and pedestrian experience. Other
preservation-minded Western towns limit downtown heights to:
• Aspen, CO – 42 feet
• Boulder, CO – 38 feet
• Jackson, WY – 30 to 39 feet
Bozeman’s proposal to allow 90 feet by right would exceed those limits by more than double,
despite the City’s denser historic form and narrower downtown street grid. The results will be:
• Overwhelming massing incompatible with Romanesque and late-Victorian architecture;
• Visual disruption to skyline landmarks such as the Hotel’s turret and the Baxter’s neon
blade;
• Increased development pressure to demolish or overshadow existing historic buildings.
The National Park Service’s design standards warn against precisely this outcome:
“Additions must be compatible in size and scale and clearly subordinate to the
historic building... [and must] not destroy historic spatial relationships.
(NPS Technical Preservation Services, New Additions to Historic Buildings, 2021)
III. No Legal Requirement to Go Beyond 60 Feet
Recent state legislation may require the City to allow 60 feet in designated downtown districts.
BHOA joins the Baxter Hotel owner and others, however, in urging the Commission to retain
60 feet as the maximum height.
JOHN AMSDEN 4
IV. Height Without Parking Will Break Downtown’s Balance
Allowing 90-foot buildings while simultaneously eliminating off-street parking requirements is
a recipe for:
• Spillover into adjacent residential neighborhoods;
• Customer access issues for existing small businesses;
• Increased vehicle circulation and congestion with no capacity relief.
The City’s recent parking decision to allow the boutique hotel already pushed downtown toward
crisis. A 90-foot building envelope will tip that system toward failure, without any infrastructure
plan to address the impact.
V. This Policy Sets the Tone for a Generation
Bozeman’s historic assets are valuable contributors to the City’s ongoing economic vitality. To
maintain these assets, the must be preserved and maintained and not economically burdened
with the secondary effects of modern development.
Historic asset investments are driven by a shared belief in downtown’s future as a place rooted
in history, not overrun by scale-maximizing institutional capital. That vision is reflected in the
City’s own Main Street Historic District designation and adopted Downtown Plan.
If Bozeman permits 90-foot construction downtown without any design review, mitigation
conditions, or proportionality standards, it will:
• Accelerate demolitions of smaller historic buildings;
• Incentivize “façade-only” redevelopment incompatible with preservation;
• Undermine the entire economic and cultural rationale for the historic district.
We urge the City to carefully consider long term effects of its policy decisions, and ask the
City to remember we can avoid the mistakes of the past. Photo 3: Bozeman in the midst of
1970s “urban renewal”:
JOHN AMSDEN 5
VI. Request
BHOA urges the Commission to:
1. Reject the proposed 90-foot height limit in the B-3 district;
2. Maintain a 60-foot by-right maximum height consistent with historic form and state law
minimums;
3. Recommit to downtown’s long-term identity as a dense, walkable, historically scaled
corridor.
Respectfully submitted,
Bozeman Hotel Owners’ Association
John L. Amsden
Beck, Amsden & Stalpes, PLLC
610 Professional Drive
Bozeman, MT 59718