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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-10-26 Public Comment - T. Wilkinson - Comment for commission NCODFrom:Todd Wilkinson To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comment for commission Date:Sunday, March 8, 2026 6:39:19 PM Attachments:Interim Zoning Letter.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. Dear City of Bozeman, Please pass along this comment to the Bozeman City Commission in advance of Tuesday's meeting. Thank you and best regards, Todd Wilkinson March 8, 2026 Dear Honorable Mayor Morrison and other Esteemed Members of the Bozeman City Commission, Please consider a few thoughts from a mere work-a-day scrivener. I am wriGng to you as a resident of Bozeman who has lived in the City and what is today the Neighborhood Overlay ConservaGon District for the equivalent of two human generaGons. I raised a family here, earlier was chair of the Bozeman Historic PreservaGon Advisory Board when the city acquired the Story Mansion and protected the Fred Wilson Armory Building and served as chair of the Performing Arts CommiPee with the Sweet Pea FesGval. In my professional life, I have been a professional journalist for 41 years. To state an obvious point for the record: I am deeply concerned about the lack of affordability confronGng the good people of Bozeman, especially young people who grew up here. Saying this, it is vital that we confront issues based on facts and transparency. It is also important that we not destroy the irreplaceable wonderful things about Bozeman in the name of pursuing quick fixes or gambling on dubious ideas that, in actuality, have a high probability of failure. Many towns in America have tried to address affordable housing through de-regulaGon; the vast majority have failed; almost all efforts in mountain towns like ours aimed at achieving affordable housing have failed, and none have succeeded by sacrificing their historic downtowns and neighborhoods. Without corresponding planning and zoning in GallaGn County, it is a myth that densifying neighborhoods through de-regulaGon is an effecGve tool for halGng sprawl. In my professional capacity, I have wriPen extensively about growth and planning issues— causes, effects, and the precauGonary principle— with special aPenGon devoted to how they are applied to preserving the human community and ecological health of our globally-iconic Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. My work has appeared in books, Na#onal Geographic magazine, and many other publicaGons The purpose of this lePer relates to the City allegedly providing adequate legal noGce on the new NCOD Design Guidelines/Unified Development Code provisions—in parGcular, impetuous acGon being taken by this and the recent previous City Commission to approve taller height allowances on buildings in historic downtown Bozeman. Specifically, approval for buildings to tower 90 feet that will forever change the historic character of the district, which is, as we all know, the shared heart and soul of our town. Contrary to what one member of the City Commission has claimed, that the public had plenty of Gme to become aware of, comprehend, digest and react to the possibility that height restricGons for downtown buildings would be changed and incorporated into the new UDC, he is wrong. Those changes were never sufficiently highlighted, well-arGculated nor were their consequences made clear to ciGzens. Had they been, there would have been an uproar. Being a journalist, I am keenly aware of the laws mandaGng adequate public noGficaGon/disclosure of significant acGons, and I have had more than a passing interest in following significant planning/zoning issues affecGng Bozeman’s architectural history and how it informs our sense of place. Given how negaGvely transformaGve the move to do away with former height restricGons would be, I was shocked to learn in December 2026 about acGons being adopted by you related to height restricGons, and frankly your ongoing level of deflecGon in explaining why they are necessary and beneficial to our larger community. Appropriate public noGficaGon and educaGon on the consequences of your acGon was and is lacking. Note: the height restricGon issue was poorly covered, at best, in the local newspaper of record. Unfortunately, it is also an outlet that only a small percentage of local residents read. Therefore, the City had an obligaGon to make greater effort to inform the public, which it did not do. In talking with a large number of normally well-informed, long-term neighbors and acGve residents in my historic neighborhood—Cooper Park—none of us knew such acGon was coming down the pike. Notably, to a person, the neighbors with whom I conversed, including two former Bozeman mayors and the City’s former historic preservaGon officer, stand in opposiGon to undoing the height restricGons downtown. Residents also are opposed to potenGal dramaGc upzoning that could come at huge negaGve costs to the character, livability and property values of historic neighborhoods. While I praise each of you for your public service, I am deeply disappointed that you did not insist the City engage we ciGzens on the implicaGons of these issues. A move to eliminate the old height restricGons will destroy the aestheGc integrity of the downtown historic district in an irreversible way. I have seen liPle, if any, evidence that you as a deliberaGve body considered the serious consequences and relayed them to the public. Nor have I seen compelling evidence that jusGfies the change in code. If I am wrong, please show all of us the details of your data. This issue, like many, warrants the most careful of consideraGon. Sadly, the way it’s been handled seems indicaGve of how an apparently overwhelmed city staff, dealing with growth issues, has dropped the ball in the way it engages ciGzens—concerned consGtuents who love Bozeman as much as you do and who have given as much of our Gme over many years to maintaining its well-being. Bozeman and the caretaking of its renowned historic districts—the result of many previous generaGons working hard to protect them—deserves bePer. We put our trust and faith in the belief you will keep us informed. You should be championing accountability to all ciGzens whose interests you serve—the vast majority of whom want our history preserved. This is an important opportunity for civic reflecGon—in deciding what kind of place we sGll want Bozeman to be. I encourage you to take a pause, in the form of adopGng proposed interim zoning, so that the consequences of modifying the height restricGon can be fully considered in the name of transparency and your showing respect for the wishes of all ciGzens—not just a small subsecGon of resident and non-resident developers who stand to benefit financially from the controversial and unnecessary changes. Results of the recent INC ciGzen survey on interim zoning should be heeded as added corroboraGon. Even bePer, please demonstrate some civic courage and leadership. Put the issue of downtown building height on the ballot and let the public decide what’s best for our town, as all ciGzens are stakeholders. Thanks for your Gme. With best regards, Todd Wilkinson 322 S. 7th Ave 406-587-4876 tawilk@aol.com PS: if Bozeman is as prosperous economically, foresighted and commiPed to protecGon of history and nature of our community as claimed to be, the City needs to prove it, and the Gme for acGon is long overdue. The City needs both a permanent, experienced Historic PreservaGon Officer and a permanent experienced Staff Ecologist whose responsibiliGes are carrying out independent assessments on proposed developments without feeling they are subject to poliGcal pressure applied by commissioners, city planning officials and developers. These posiGons cannot be under the thumb of personnel in the planning office whose job performance reviews are influenced by the volume of development permits they process. The professionals in these posts need to operate much like the internal auditor posiGons at Montana State University do. They deliver true objecGve accountability in the public interest.