HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-05-26 Public Comment - S. Grantham - Public Comment on Fowler Avenue Housing DevelopmentFrom:Shannon
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:contact@harvestcreekmt.org
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on Fowler Avenue Housing Development
Date:Tuesday, May 5, 2026 6:56:17 AM
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I'm writing about the proposed Fowler Housing Development on the city-owned parcelbetween Oak Street and Annie Street, and I want to be direct about what concerns me most:
the infrastructure in this part of Bozeman is not built for what's being proposed.
I live on Catamount Street and work right next to where this development is planned. Underthe current plan, 168 cars from up to 84 units would enter and exit through Farmall and
Caterpillar Streets, which are residential roads. There is no access planned from FowlerAvenue itself, the arterial road that runs right next to the site. That makes no sense.
Catamount, Farmall, and New Holland were designed to move neighborhood traffic, not toabsorb the equivalent of a small apartment complex with a parking ratio that virtually
guarantees overflow into Harvest Creek streets. The city's own parking assumption of 1.67vehicles per unit is optimistic in a city with no meaningful transit alternative to car ownership.
Beyond traffic, I want to know what the water, sewer, and stormwater capacity analysis shows
for adding 84 units to this area. I haven't seen that study. I've seen no evidence it was done. I'mformally requesting that a comprehensive environmental and traffic impact study be
completed and made public before any zoning or development vote proceeds.
The $450,000 to $650,000 price range being discussed for these units isn't affordablehousing. The average household income in Bozeman is around $85,000 a year. At thatincome, a reasonable monthly mortgage payment is roughly $2,000. That math doesn'tproduce a $600,000 condo purchase. What this city actually needs is more moderatelypriced HOMES. Not properties for millionaires who don’t live here to purchase. ButHOMES aimed at allowing actual residents who make actual Bozeman wages (lowrelative to housing cost) to be able to get into home buying in homes that will actuallyresell. There are plenty of townhouses and condos that sit on the market for months andmonths. I know because I live in the huuuge swathe of them just north of where you areplanning this crazy development. The condos and townhomes sit forever so they are nota good investment for Bozmanites looking to get into property vs throwing all theirmoney away in crazy high rent prices every months. This development does nothing tohelp the real problems.
The City Commission agreed in January 2026 to a consensus-based engagement process withthe Harvest Creek HOA. That process is just getting started. Let it run. Don't lock in zoning
decisions that will predetermine the outcome before the neighbors have had a real seat at thetable.
Shannon Grantham
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