HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecision whether the City owned building located at 214 East Lamme is unneccessary for city purposes.pdf Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: James Goehrung, Director of Facility Services
Chuck Winn, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Declare that the city owned building located at 214 East Lamme is
unnecessary for City purposes and authorize the removal of the house. Should the Commission
vote in the affirmative, the next action would be to act on the Certificate of Appropriateness
(COA) application for the Demolition Permit.
MEETING DATE: April 25, 2011
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action Item
RECOMMENDATION: Declare the city owned building located at 214 East Lamme is
unnecessary for City purposes and authorized the removal of the house subject to the terms and
conditions as defined in the Certificate of Appropriateness issued by the Planning Department,
and approved by the Commission, for removal of the structure.
BACKGROUND: When the Bozeman Public Library looked at their options to
enlarge their operation on their old site at East Lamme and North Rouse, they looked into
purchasing adjoining properties and putting on an addition to their original building. They talked
to the neighbors and asked about purchasing addition property to expand on site and were told by
the owners they were not interested in selling, hence the library’s move to their current location.
Once the city made a decision to reuse the old library building and renovate it for a new city
hall, we did so with an eye toward the future. About the same time, the plans were underway,
the adjoining property at 214 East Lamme came on the market. Since the logical direction for an
addition would be to the west, because of the creek, a decision was made to purchase the
property to provide for possible future expansion of City Hall.
In November 2006 the Commission approved the purchase of the property at 214 East Lamme.
In the staff memo it stated that staff recommends the purchase of the property as a future
expansion to meet the long-term needs of the city.
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The property is zoned B-3 and was originally listed as having two housing units. During the
appraisal it was determined that the converted garage on the south end of the property did not
meet the definition of having a functioning kitchen, so the property was appraised as having a
single residence with an accessory building.
Shortly after purchasing the property staff looked at some options for temporary use of the house
until the lot was needed for City Hall expansion. The Human Resource Development Council
was contacted about using the house for low income housing. One of their inspectors went
through the house and developed a list of improvements that would need to be made before they
would place someone in the home.
Contractors were asked to price out what the improvements would cost in order to bring the
house in line with the requirements for the Section 8 housing program. Renovation estimates
ranged from $50,000.00 to $75,000.00. After reviewing the options a decision was made not to
spend the money to fix up the building so it has remained vacant since the city purchased the
property.
In June, 2008, the Planning Department awarded a Certificate of Appropriateness for the
removal of the old garage on the back of the property near the alley. In October a contract was
in place and the building was demolished.
In the spring of 2009 staff looked into the possibility of removing the remaining house on the
property. We had one proposal to move the house and another to demolish it. The person that
wanted to move the house had some property on North Montana just down the street. The
possible move deal fell through when the housing market changed.
In May of 2010 a group working with the City’s Neighborhood Coordinator started work on the
development of the Lamme property into a community garden. Twenty one garden plots and 4
community service plots were laid out and prepared for planting. The first garden season started
in June of 2010.
Should the Commission agree that the house is unnecessary for City purposes and approve the
application for the COA, the number of community gardens plots will be increased on the site
until such time that the city might need the property for the expansion of City Hall.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: The requirements and conditions for how the property is removed
from the site – moved, deconstructed and salvaged, or demolished - will be addressed with the
approval of the COA.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission.
FISCAL EFFECTS: Removal of the house is not currently listed in the budget. The means
and methods used to remove the house will determine the cost. We may bear only the cost of
site recovery if we are able to find someone to move the house. The salvage rights on the house
may be worth the main costs of deconstruction. Currently the costs associated with maintaining
the property are for the site: lawn care, snow removal, and periodic checks on the property. The
utilities for the house have been shut off so we have no operational costs. Should the decision be
made to retain the building future costs for repairs and maintenance will need to be budgeted for
to prevent further deterioration of the building.
Report compiled on: April 14, 2011
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