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Home My WebLink About12-15-25 Public Comment - M. Delaney - FW_ UDC Public Comment letter. Building Height Restrictions in B3 and B3-C. UDC 38.220.050From:Mike Delaney To:Terry Cunningham; Douglas Fischer; Emma Bode; jmadjic@bozeman.net; Joey Morrison; Bozeman PublicComment Subject:[EXTERNAL]FW: UDC Public Comment letter. Building Height Restrictions in B3 and B3-C. UDC 38.220.050 Date:Monday, December 15, 2025 10:17:17 AM Attachments:bozeman. udc. building height. bardo photos.1. pdf.pdf bozeman. udc. building height photos.1.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. Please be advised that we support these great ideas from Mr. Loseff to support and enhance our Historic Downtown Bozeman. Sincerely, Michael Delaney and Ileana Indreland Michael Winn Delaney Delaney and Company, Inc. 101 East Main Street Bozeman, Montana 59715 Cell Phone : (406) 539-7798 From: David Loseff <dploseff@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2025 10:29 PM To: David Loseff <dploseff@gmail.com> Subject: Fwd: UDC Public Comment letter. Building Height Restrictions in B3 and B3-C. UDC 38.220.050 Please see my following public comment letter to the City Commission on development height restrictions in our historic downtown district which encompasses both the B3-C and the broader B3. The City Commission meeting for this upcoming Tuesday Dec 16 will be for final passage of the new UDC. While the City Commission reduced the proposed height allowance in the B3 from 90' to 70' in its meeting two weeks ago, there has been substantial effort from several developer groups to get the City Commission to revert back to the 90' height. And remember, under current Affordable Housing bonus density rules, 70' or 90'.....which is substantial in itself, could be increased by an additional 4 stories......eg. converting a 6 story building into a 10 story building. At this point, we need Every Who in Whoville shouting from the rooftops via public comment in advance and/or at this Tuesday night's City Commission meeting. If you agree, please submit public comment to: tcunningham@bozeman.net dfischer@bozeman.net ebode@bozeman.net jmadjic@bozeman.net jmorrison@bozeman.net comments@bozeman.net And please pass this email along to other sympathetic parties to get as many public comments on the height issues submitted to the commission in advance of this critical upcoming meeting. Regards, David Loseff ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: David Loseff <dploseff@gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM Subject: UDC Public Comment letter. Building Height Restrictions in B3 and B3-C. UDC 38.220.050 To: Terry Cunningham <TCunningham@bozeman.net>, Douglas Fischer <dfischer@bozeman.net>, Jennifer Madgic <jmadgic@bozeman.net>, Emma Bode <ebode@bozeman.net>, <jmorrison@bozeman.net>, <comments@bozeman.net> Cc: Alison Sweeney <a.bernadettes@gmail.com> Dear Mayor and Commissioners, I appreciate your prior revision to reduce the allowable building heights in the B3 to 70' from the prior proposed 90' height. However, I would still encourage you to further reduce the height restriction to 60' throughout our walkable historic downtown district commensurate with the height limit set for the B3-C. At a minimum, please do not heed to requests of a handful of hungry developers seeking a reversion back to higher levels to improve their project returns at the expense of our historic district. I am currently the owner of the Baxter which was built nearly 100 years ago via the efforts of the Baxter community. It long predates my ownership and will be intact long after I am gone. While I am currently the owner, I am basically the steward of this historic anchor of our community for a brief period of time. Consequently, while I have and will continue to make upgrades and improvements to this treasured property, I have an obligation to protect, safeguard and preserve this precious historic asset. Just as I have tried being a good steward of the historic Baxter, many of my neighbors.....property and business owners and respective employees.....have invested large portions of their lives and personal savings into supporting, refurbishing, protecting and enhancing our historic downtown and turning it into one of the most beloved historic areas in our country. The outpouring of families and the entire community for our Christmas Stroll, Art Walks, 4th of July and MSU Homecoming events, Sweet Pea, and other Community Events, etc. provide ample evidence of the specialness and importance of our entire walkable historic downtown core to our community. It is our town's history and its soul. As City Commissioners, you will only occupy your seats for short periods of time compared to the longstanding history of Bozeman dating back to 1863 and during your short tenures, you have a similar obligation to be strong stewards and protectors of our precious historic downtown which encompasses both the B3-C and the broader B3. The decisions you make on the revised UDC with respect to height limits, setbacks, building plates, etc. will result in longstanding irrevocable impacts on our precious historic downtown. Respectfully, it is your obligation as stewards of our downtown during your brief period in office to protect, preserve and enhance our historic downtown and not screw it up by allowing for irrevocable adverse developments which destroy the soul of our precious asset. The pressures to accommodate increased building heights, increased density and ongoing growth and development is acute. Bozeman is threatened by its success. Not only are increasing numbers of people discovering and coming to Bozeman, it has also been discovered by institutional and private equity capital seeking strong economic returns. In many cases this influx of capital is a necessary and valuable tool supporting the development of new housing and revitalization of various places in Bozeman such as the old Gallatin Valley Mall and the N. 7th. corridor and new multifamily housing. But this capital needs to be subjected to very tight UDC controls since much of this new outsider investment money is only driven by increasing returns without regard to real impacts on our community.....parking impacts, blocking views, destroying the historic heart of our community. Much of this money is coming from sources who don't live in our community and won't suffer the consequences of their development decisions resulting in a lot of drive-by, hit and run development.......ugly but profitable boxes along our prime corridors. If you grant them extra height allowances or eliminate setback requirements or allow for big box exterior fronts, they will happily grab those accommodations for an extra 1% of investment returns without the slightest concern for its impacts on our town. As City Commissioners at this point in time, you are the sole guardians of our precious and irreplaceable historic downtown core. You need to impose tight height restrictions and other development guidelines much as the way other cities have protected their irreplaceable historic downtown core areas such as Jackson WY (30'-39'), Boulder (38'), Aspen (42' and lower), Vail, and even larger cities like Scottsdale AZ (40'-48' in its historic district), Boston's Beacon Hill (3-5 stories max), Charleston SC (50 ft max), etc. I have attached photos of the "ghost of Christmas future" for Bozeman if you fail to impose appropriate height restrictions on new buildings in our downtown historic core. Basically it is some of the big ugly unimaginative boxes already coming into our town but with my markings reflecting an added 2-4 stories of height. As a town, we can do better and as City Commissioners you are the stewards with the power and obligation of safeguarding our historic district. Respectfully, David Loseff . -� ,..,... � .... ,,:.· ,.� � :::1· ... , ..... ,� l\'of& . 1"""' ,,.... TM"' 1""' !jO,ld; ·,1•;-� - ' ••1 • ■••• I I