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Home My WebLink About020 - Departure Request 1 To: Danielle Garber From: Celine Saucier Date: May 4, 2026 Job No.: 24645 RE: Roers Bozeman Apartments SP CC: Departure Request – Special Residential Block Frontage Standards Urgent For Review Please Comment Please Reply For Your Use This memorandum is submitted in response to staff comments on Ref #53 and to formally request a departure from BMC 38.510.030.J – Special Residential Block Frontage Standards along Sidewalks and Internal Pathways, as recommended by Reviewer Danielle Garber (2/26/26). The departure request applies only to Building A, as Building B does not contain ground-floor residential units. BMC 38.510.030.J requires that ground-floor residential units facing a sidewalk or pedestrian pathway incorporate at least one public/private space transition element (options 1–3) to ensure:  Resident privacy and security  Attractive and safe pedestrian pathways  Compatibility with adjoining residences within the complex Portions of Building A are located within 10 feet of an internal pedestrian walkway, making the landscaped setback option infeasible. Due to grading constraints, the raised ground floor option is not feasible. For this reason, the applicant requests a departure to allow other transition design measures that meet or exceed the intent of the code standard. Specifically, the project proposes:  Strategically designed planting beds located between ground-floor units and internal walkways. In winter when the leaves drop, the branch habits on the taller deciduous shrubs are quite dense and will still provide sufficient screening during that time. 2 Roers Bozeman Apartments SP  Plant species and spacing are designed to enhance privacy for residents while maintaining clear, safe, and visually appealing pedestrian circulation. The shrubs on the ground level units are deciduous shrubs; they vary from 1' - 8' to provide screening. Due to site constraints that prevent full compliance with standard transition options, the proposed departure represents a reasonable and context-sensitive solution. The alternative measures provide an equal level of privacy, security, and pathway quality compared to the code- prescribed options and align with the objectives of BMC 38.510.030.J. We respectfully request staff support and approval of this departure for Building A.