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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBozeman Creek Public Comment from David Perlstein 4-30-14From:dp To:Agenda Subject:flood season Date:Tuesday, April 29, 2014 10:48:49 AM From your across the street and across the creek neighbor at City Hall---- Part of the reason people move to Bozeman is to be surrounded by the beauty. And unlike many cities, which feature trails and parks along principal waters, Bozeman didn't and has not preserved its namesake stream corridor. It's appalling to most people how neglected the Bozeman Creek is; and how it is treated like a farmers canal, rather than embraced as a asset to the community. Gary Vodehnal of GVLT stated a few years back, 'The city may be a century too late to protect the corridor the entire length of Bozeman Creek, but pocket parks connected by trails are still possible." He then stated, "We need to make Bozeman Creek the center of our community." In responding to your email, please let me restate once again my building is not in the floodplain. This I have documented from FEMA. A small part of my property is in the floodplain. The structure I own was built around 1930. It is the newest and most recent structure on the East Beall block. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Bozeman and most of the homes on the street pre-date 1900. It is not just my structure that flooded in 2008 and 2011 but the entire block had a foot of water standing. The City of Bozeman has a long history of notable flooding at the corner of Lamme and Rouse. Since 1982, a horrible flood year, the neighborhood has flooded more than 7 times. Since the City of Bozeman's Creekside Park is our neighbor we have asked for help in correcting this issue. This is not the first time people have approached the city with regards to this area, and I will attest that it has been a most frustrating process, or lack of process which has failed both me and my neighbors. I have offered to purchase the park, help the city apply for grants, and or sell my property to the city. I have sandbags up to protect the neighborhood, and would hope after the park was fixed I could construct something less ugly and more natural and to help beautify the area. I have offered my time and monies to write grants on behalf of Bozeman, but your office has turned me down on numerous occasions. A real shame considering the wild amounts of federal monies in the system with specific goals of mitigation and having one of the strongest Senator's in Congress that could help. The cheapest immediate solution to the problem is to cut the concrete wall down on Creekside Park to grade which would not only bring it up to federal code but give it a chance to flood out over the park versus East Beall St. and houses. On questionable water years this would be significant This idea was ok'd by Mike Vaughn at FWP. Greg Sullivan said he would follow up with FWP, as of today, that has not occurred There is no reason not to do this as a minimum. Here we are at springtime and nothing has been done. I'll never understand why it will take a disaster loss of life or affordable housing to get destroyed to then have Bozeman become active. The City of Bozeman purchased this property in 1982. The city inherited the problems when they purchased the property and now have a chance to correct it. The city must address this issue. This is why we have floodplain regulations that are meant to prevent damage to property caused by others' actions, and allow streams to convey floodwaters naturally. The city needs to recognize that misguided historic actions have contributed to this issue, but this by no means 'grandfather's' the error and deem this area ok. The wall on the Creekside Park, defined by the City of Bozeman's ordinance is an artificial obstacle. If the city is to continue on ignoring this issue and do nothing then I am requesting that this will be based on information that may include hydraulic calculations assessing the impact on the base flood elevations or velocities, certification by registered land surveyor, and a professional independent engineer who specializes in water issues. This is not anything more than the city would require from their citizens. The band aid currently on the corner is not acceptable. The Bozeman UDO Chapter 18.58 discusses the promotion of public health, safety, and general welfare, to minimize flood loses in areas subject to flood hazards, and to promote wise use of floodplain when those limited circumstances occur. In my research to responding to your email I had a chance to talk with many neighbors, former property owners, scientists, professors, architects, federal employees, etc. Many questions were raised. Was a 127 permit pulled which was required by law when the now City Hall (formerly old library) was built? Was there any studies done to see what the wall on the East side of the creek, where old city shops was located, would do to the downstream neighbors? Was any study done to see if the walkway and wall on the old city shops constricted the waterway? I ask this question because many neighbors experienced flooding and higher waters after this was constructed. Even forcing one neighbor to build a retaining wall to control new flooding. Engineering on the Creekside Park was done in 2008, have you looked at what was done? After the failed and illegal attempt to remove the wall and rebuild it in the creek (FWP letter dated Sept 29, 2008) , the city braced the wall making it an even worse eyesore for all. As an adjacent property owner I believe the work done has threatened the value of my property. It's ugly and gross and sure doesn't look like it belongs in a Bozeman park. Worse, this work clearly did nothing to address any problems. The wall has already come apart, please go look. The water is telling you that it doesn't want to be forced to do what the wall compels and directs it to do. The rip rap on the Creekside Park does not look stable or seem to have any rhyme or reason. Who put it there? Considering what Rick Hixson required from me for an application to rip rap my bank, which was denied, there is no way the rocks on Creekside Park can comply with his own subjective litmus test (which required me to draw each rock to size and shape and show exactly how they would fit). The City of Bozeman can't have staff that requires our local citizens one set of rules but doesn't apply to them especially in regards to federal standards. The park looks old and dilapidated. I have spoken to the Bozeman Sourdough Lions, who adopted the park 18 yrs ago. There job is to tend and beautify the park, Even they expressed their dismay of the wall being an eyesore and impossible to beautify. They believed something needs to be done... I have included minutes from a Aug 20, 1984, City of Bozeman commission meeting. Here is a presentation by former MSU Professor Ray White, Ph.D. and Aldo Starker Leopold Wild Trout Award winner, in regards to Bozeman Creek. When I spoke with him via phone, he said the corner of Rouse and Lamme is an example that he uses at the beginning of every lecture around the world as a prime example of, " a sad situation of urban abuse of a stream." He further stated that most people don't believe him when he says this exists in Montana. The wall is outdated and aesthetically horrible. This situation does not meet the goals and merits of our parks here in Bozeman. Nor does ignoring the problem help with being fine neighbors to a neighborhood of affordable housing. The wall is less than 40 years old and may have even been installed by the city to replace old rotted wood. Why would the city not look at preventative measures to mitigate this situation. When are we going to start treating the Bozeman Creek as asset to the community versus a farmer's canal? Chris K, in a letter you wrote to Senator Max Baucus with regards to my concerns dated July 17, 2008, you wrote, "The area in question does not pose any greater flood threat to homes than other areas near creeks and rivers, and we are uncertain that anything could be done there to prevent flooding of the subject properties without jeopardizing other up- and downstream properties." I have asked for the studies you based this on and have yet to received any information. One can only look back at what James Goehrung stated in the Bozeman Chronicle about his concerns 'that if the creek escapes its banks, there could be flooding of homes just north of the Library, where the creek takes a hard right turn. Historically, what the water tends to do is go straight which would be right through some houses.'