Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-2016, D. Haydon, True Dragon Brewery Daniel Haydon 411 N. Broadway Ave. Bozeman, MT 59715 (406) 580-5928 April 6, 2016 City of Bozeman Department of Community Development Attn: Planner Mitch WerBell Cc: Bozeman City Commissioners PO Box 1230 Bozeman, MT 59771-1230 To Mr.WerBell and the City Commissioners: This letter is in regards to the notice for comments on application#15554, the Certificate of Appropriateness and Conditional Use Permit for True Dragon Brewery,418 &422 N. Plum Avenue. I write this letter because of my concerns about the proposed change of use to open a taproom and start serving alcohol to the public. My concerns are listed below and I will explain each individually. I will conclude with my proposed solutions for your consideration. After you have read my concerns and considered the solutions,I hope that you will decide to vote against allowing a change of use to open a taproom. Thank you for taking the time to include my input in your decision. Concerns: 1. Pedestrian safety 2. Vehicle safety 3. Parking 4. The potential use of tax dollars to make improvements for a private entity 5. Homeowners prior knowledge 6. Alley use and the deterioration of the road condition 7. Extra noise in a residential neighborhood 8. Potential for over-service from having multiple breweries next to each other 1. Currently,there are no sidewalks on Plum Avenue or Avocado Street. Plum Avenue is a fairly narrow street and Avocado Street is a high use street, especially well travelled at the beginning and end of business days. I am concerned that the brewery will add a substantial amount of foot traffic and that the opportunity for a vehicle / pedestrian accident will increase dramatically. There is past precedence from the City Commission about this subject on Plum Avenue. On January 12, 2015 the City Commission held a public meeting about the art studio of Zac Zakovi,which is located across from the proposed brewery at 418 &422 Plum Avenue. One of the decisions made during this meeting was that Mr. Zakovi needed to move all his artwork back from the roadway easement. The stated reason for this was because pedestrian traffic should not be pushed into the roadway to avoid his art installations. I believe that the City Commission was correct in its judgment at that time and should consider the same facts now. I believe that the foot traffic between Bozeman Brewing Company and True Dragon Brewery will cause a problem on Avocado Street. The foot traffic will have to cross the roadway at the intersection of North Broadway Avenue and Avocado Street. This is an approximately 45-degree corner that is currently uncontrolled at 25 miles per hour. As vehicles park on the roadway shoulder, it is difficult to see around this corner and could cause a pedestrian accident. 2. The section of roadway connecting Peach Street, North Broadway Avenue, and Avocado Street is posted at 25 miles per hour and is uncontrolled. It is difficult and dangerous to exit Plum Avenue onto Avocado Street because of the blind corner at Peach Street and Plum Avenue.The majority of vehicles parking at True Dragon Brewery will exit from the brewery onto Plum Avenue and will then turn onto Avocado Street. I assume that a large percentage of that traffic will turn left onto Avocado Street to access the communities on the west side of Rouse. I predict that if the current traffic patterns remain, this intersection will quickly have one of the highest accident rates in the city. Bicycle safety should also be considered. Without a paved shoulder and without a sidewalk,bicycles do not have an option on Avocado but to command a lane of traffic. When this happens, I have seen vehicles pull around them, entering the oncoming lane of traffic while approaching a blind corner. 3. Currently, there are no curbs on Avocado Street or on Plum Avenue. When vehicles fill the parking spaces on North Broadway Avenue and in the Simkins-Hallin parking lot,they park along Avocado Street on the roadway easement. The increased traffic will undoubtedly overflow the True Dragon parking lot. This will push more vehicles onto Avocado Street and onto Plum Avenue. The vehicles will either start to encroach on the roadway or will turn the roadway easement into mud as you can see on Avocado Street today. 4. As I will suggest at the end of this letter,my proposed solutions to these problems would necessitate the installation of sidewalks, install curbs, install lighting,paint the roadway, and install traffic control devices. These would extend past the property boundary of the True Dragon Brewery. While I'm not sure that it would be fair or legal to insist on True Dragon making all the improvements, I also do not think that it is appropriate for the City of Bozeman to invest a large sum of tax money to make improvements so that one private business can operate. S. When my wife and I bought our home in August of 2013 we knew that we were moving into a mixed-use neighborhood. We knew that the Bozeman Brewing Company would bring customer traffic across the street from our home and we knew that the Meadow Gold trucks would be reversing into their loading dock during the night. We, and the residents of this neighborhood, did not know that the Meadow Gold building would be re-zoned to establish a nighttime retail establishment. Currently, True Dragon is only asking for a taproom and brewery,but True Dragon has also publically discussed their desire to open a restaurant and a micro hotel on the same property. When Zac Zakovi requested approval to install a forgery on his property, the City Commission rightly asked whether his neighbors could have known his plans when they purchased their properties and whether it would have affected their decisions. I ask that you consider this question again with the True Dragon Brewery. 6. There is a public alley between Plum Avenue and North Broadway Avenue. The alley is already in poor condition. It holds water most of the year and is deeply rutted. How will the addition of a brewery impact the alleyway and how will True Dragon remediate its impact? Additionally, my home is located at 411 North Broadway Avenue. When our home was built approximately 110 years ago, it was placed on the far western edge of the property line. This places the building outside of current code but it has been grandfathered in. My bedroom is located on the west side of the house. How will the increased traffic in the alley affect my family's quality of life? 7. A taproom would bring a lot of extra people to a mixed use / residential neighborhood. The vehicle and foot traffic would cause a disturbance in the neighborhood that would include the noise of trucks, motorcycles, and patrons yelling. This would be impossible to remediate but would affect the quality of life for the surrounding residential neighbors. 8. State law currently places a cap on the amount of alcohol a taproom can serve at 48 fluid ounces (three beers). Three microbrews contain enough alcohol to place drivers at risk of driving under the influence. Allowing True Dragon Brewery to open next door to Bozeman Brewing Company would create the opportunity for over-service. As an example, on February 13, 2016 at 8:00 pm I personally broke up a domestic dispute between an intoxicated couple. The couple drove to Bozeman Brewing Company from 406 Brewery. The couple started fighting with each other and the husband punched a wall, cutting his hand and requiring medical care from AMR and Bozeman Fire. I spoke with the bartenders at the brewery and they informed me that they had cut the couple off when they realized that they were highly intoxicated. Additionally,the increased number of intoxicated pedestrians in a residential area would dramatically change the dynamic of the neighborhood. Solutions 1. Sidewalks would need to be installed on Plum Avenue from Fridley Street to Avocado Street at a minimum. Sidewalks would need to be installed on the south side of Avocado Street from North Broadway Avenue to Plum Avenue. , 2. In order to reduce traffic speeds on Avocado Street, I propose that the intersection of North Broadway Avenue,Avocado Street, and the Simkins-Hallin parking lot be turned into a three way stop sign. This would also allow for pedestrians travelling between Bozeman Brewing Company and True Dragon Brewery to cross the roadway safely. Because of the blind corner at Avocado Street and Peach Street I also propose that, at a minimum, a stop sign be installed for vehicles travelling east on Peach Street. I also propose that the City of Bozeman consider installing a dedicated bike lane on Avocado Street. 3. True Dragon Brewery needs to ensure that it provides enough parking for all of its patrons. Currently,the competing traffic for Simkins-Hallin and Bozeman Brewing Company push vehicles onto the dirt easement of Avocado Street. The City of Bozeman should consider widening the roadway, installing curbs, and providing dedicated parking on this road. Curbs would also need to be installed on Plum Avenue to stop patrons of True Dragon Brewery from parking on the residential lawns of Plum Street neighbors. 4. I do not know the legal standing on the use of tax dollars to make infrastructure improvements in a case like this. If the City of Bozeman required these safety improvements be made to the neighborhood, I would be upset and disappointed if I found out that my taxes were being used for the benefit of one private business. 5. On the subject of how to treat homeowners who could not have been aware of the proposed change of use there are only two possible decisions. Either allow for a change of use so that True Dragon Brewery can open a taproom or deny their request. Denying their request would not stop them from operating their core business. True Dragon Brewery would still be able to brew, keg, and bottle beer on site and they would have the opportunity to open a taproom in a different location. Conversely,by allowing True Dragon Brewery to open a taproom, it creates the potential to dramatically alter the make up of the neighborhood and to alienate the residential neighbors. 6. To ensure that the alley connecting Avocado Street and Fridley Street between North Broadway Avenue and Plum Avenue is kept in useable condition for local residents and emergency vehicles, I think that the City of Bozeman would need to find a way of deterring True Dragon employees and patrons from using the alley. 7. I do not have a way of remediating the extra noise that would affect the quality of life of the residential neighbors. 8. To deter over-service, I think that the Bozeman Police Department would need to start performing bar walks at these businesses. I also think that the Bozeman City Police would need to proactively issue citations for over-service. As I am sure you are aware,the White Dog Brewery and Bozeman Spirits were closed on two different nights this year for over service. Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns. I would like to make it clear that I am not against a brewery opening at 418 &422 Plum Avenue. The mixed-use district that my family is a part of makes our neighborhood a dynamic place to live. However,when I consider what the taproom would mean for my community,first in terms of infrastructure upgrades, and second for the way that it would alter our neighborhood dynamics, I must speak strongly against approving the change of use. I hope that the Bozeman City Commission will see that approving the change of use would have many downsides including the cost of infrastructure,the decreased safety to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and the impact on residential neighbors who were unaware of this potential when they moved into their homes. I hope that the Bozeman City Commission will see that the costs out-weigh the benefits and will vote against allowing the True Dragon Brewery to open a taproom. Th k you, 7 Daniel Haydon