HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-05-26 Public Comment - A. Newman - Hanson Lane App 25775 Annexation and ZoningFrom:Austin Newman
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Hanson Lane App 25775 Annexation and Zoning
Date:Tuesday, May 5, 2026 11:24:40 AM
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My backyard is on New Holland Drive, directly adjacent to the parcel the City is proposing to
develop as R-3 high-density housing between Oak and Annie Streets. I did not buy this houseexpecting three- or four-story apartment buildings to go up twenty feet from my back fence.
No one in Harvest Creek did. The homes here weren't designed with that in mind, and I don'tthink the City has fully reckoned with what this proposal does to the people who already live
here.
The site math doesn't work. The parcel is 150 feet wide. After setbacks and road right-of-way,there are roughly 30 feet left for structures. The revised plan shrinks setbacks to 20 feet and
runs a single-lane alleyway along existing backyards, which means most of my neighbors willhave parking and vehicle traffic right at their property lines. That is not a buffer. An 84-unit
development at 18 units per acre, priced between $450,000 and $650,000, is not affordablehousing by any reasonable standard either.
Traffic is a serious problem. The plan routes 168 vehicles through Farmall Street and
Caterpillar Street, which are residential roads. There is no access point on Fowler Avenueitself — the arterial that's literally being built to serve this corridor. I bike through this area
regularly, and I can tell you that adding that volume to internal neighborhood streets without aproper traffic study is reckless.
Before any vote, I'm formally requesting a comprehensive environmental and traffic impact
study. I'm also asking the Commission to extend the public comment period so moreneighbors have a real chance to weigh in. The Commission committed in January 2026 to a
consensus-based engagement process with the Harvest Creek HOA. Phase 2 of that processstarts mid-May. Approving zoning now, before that process has produced anything, makes the
whole thing meaningless.
Please slow down and get this right.
Austin Newman