HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-05-26 Public Comment - E. Keller - Hanson Lane App 25775 Annexation and ZoningFrom:Emily Keller
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:contact@harvestcreekmt.org
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Hanson Lane App 25775 Annexation and Zoning
Date:Tuesday, May 5, 2026 11:46:36 AM
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I want to address the proposed Fowler Housing Development directly, as a Harvest Creekresident. The current proposal asks this neighborhood to absorb up to 84 units at roughly 18
units per acre on a parcel only 150 feet wide. After setbacks and road right-of-way, there areapproximately 30 feet left for actual structures. That's not a design constraint the City can
engineer its way out of with reduced setbacks and a single-lane alleyway.
The units are priced between $450,000 and $650,000. That's not affordable housing. There'sno mention of HRDC, Trust Montana, or any grant or nonprofit structure that would make
them so. Meanwhile, R-3 affordable development is already underway on 160 acres at Baxterand Cottonwood. This parcel doesn't need to carry that burden with a design that damages
adjacent properties and strains infrastructure that wasn't sized for this density.
The traffic picture alone should give the Commission pause. One hundred sixty-eight cars,with no access planned from Fowler Avenue itself — the arterial road running right alongside
the parcel — routed instead through Farmall Street and Caterpillar Street. Those are residentialstreets. They weren't built for that volume, and the people who live on them didn't sign up for
it. Overflow parking will follow those cars into Harvest Creek streets, and the covenants therecan't be enforced against non-residents.
I'm formally requesting a comprehensive environmental and traffic impact study before any
zoning decision moves forward. The City's 2017 purchase agreement committed to preservingexisting trees, open spaces, and the irrigation ditch. The Commission agreed in January 2026
to a consensus-based engagement process with the Harvest Creek HOA — and Phase 2 of thatprocess doesn't even start until mid-May. Approving anything before that process produces
results isn't engagement. As for the traffic impact study, Annie St is a walking route forchildren going to Emily Dickinson. Once the Fowler Connector is built, that street becomes a
through route. Without installed traffic calming, it becomes a cut through for drivers avoidingthe Fowler corridor and poses a serious safety problem. Both of these issues need to be studied
and addressed as a condition of any annexation approval, not as an afterthought.
I hope you make the right decision and put current residents and children before profits.
Emily Keller
Emily Keller
(717) 305-0960