Live updates from the Bozeman City Commission meeting on April 11, 2017, concerning the controversial Black-Olive development.
With a couple minutes to go before the opening gavel, the city commission chamber isn't quite as full as last week — but still doesn't have many empty chairs.
The city has a live stream video up here. I'll be focusing on catching the high points and adding context with updates on this page.
Sounds like this could go late this evening. "We're going to finish tonight," insists Mayor Carson Taylor — and city clerk who's taking minutes is drinking a Red Bull.
We're hearing largely familiar concerns from our first several commenters of the night, with many wishing the proposal was for a smaller building with more parking and less impact on neighbor's light.
“Five stories, right up to the property line does not fit in this area. It’s not Bozeman — it’s not who we are,” says one opponent.
A few supporters are pointing to the city's housing crunch, and arguing that the project meets the thrust of the city's development plans.
“I think every great building in the city was ahead of its time at some point,” says a supporter, local realtor Nolan Campbell, who also tells the commission he lives four doors down.
We're also hearing from some opponents who are saying that some of the city's design standards applicable to the Black-Olive were amended with a less-than-transparent process in 2015. Those changes, they're claiming, were intended to benefit developers and left nearby homeowners out of the process.
Specifically, they're referencing this memo by then-planning director Wendy Thomas, which presented design guidelines for downtown-area commercial development but wrote that the process of drafting them "left insufficient time for added collaboration."
I haven't had a chance to check out those allegations in a rigorous way.
Still going strong, with roughly 35 people addressing the commission so far this evening and another 10 lined up against the wall waiting their turn. A majority of folks saying they oppose the project.
We just heard from an attorney, Chris Gray, saying he's representing a group of "affected and interested citizens."
He addresses commissioners on the design standards issue a few opponents have been raising, saying he's submitted a public records request for information on the noticing there and asking commissioners to delay in their decision so that can be addressed.
We've now heard from our last public commenter of the night, 2.5 hours in. Holloran and his design team now get a chance to rebut what opponents have said.
Holloran opens by criticizing about the feedback he got from the city design review board, saying he got conflicting recommendations from its members (the board has criticized several of his projects, and panned Black-Olive specifically without mincing words).
“I think the process is subjective and hope that we, collectively as a community, can improve on that," he says.
Holloran says a traffic study done for his project reported that downtown traffic has increased only by 1 percent (over a timeframe I didn't catch).
"One percent — and that's factual data," he says — as audience members chuckle in disbelief.
He also suggests parking isn't really an issue on downtown's south side.
Commissioner I-Ho Pomeroy asks Holloran about his car-share plans.
“We’ve had great discussions with a number of car-share companies,” he says, saying his company plans to contract with a national provider.
He also says HomeBase is "prepared to underwrite" a for-profit provider, providing a subsidy to help lure them into Bozeman if necessary.
Andrus thanks Holloran "for bringing us a project that really spurred community conversation."
Andrus says she isn't going to supporting her motion to approve the project, citing the building's five stories and compatibility with neighborhoods to the south.
“I do believe that we need density and infill around our downtown,” she says.
Pomeroy says she is going to vote for the project, however, citing the need to follow the commission's current development rules for the downtown B-3 zoning district and saying additional housing will help Bozeman address its tight housing market, helping affordability somewhat.
Commissioner Jeff Krauss says he won't support the Black-Olive, either, citing its parking provision.
“Parking is the critical infrastructure for downtown vitality,” he says.
For those keeping track, that's two nays and one aye. Both Mayor Carson Taylor and Commissioner Chris Mehl would need to support Black-Olive for it to win majority approval tonight.
Commissioner Mehl says he wants to try to add conditions about Black-Olive's parking before he'll decide whether to support.
However, he says, "It is a parking-challenged proposal."
Mayor Taylor cuts to the chase: "The parking plan is insufficient."
“And frankly," he adds, "I think there’re too many loose ends in it all the way around."
That's three votes against Black-Olive, unless Mehl is able to finagle some sort of condition on the project approval that gets three commissioners to "yes."
Taylor has more to add, saying density makes sense in downtown but that he's worried about Black-Olive's parking provision.
Additionally, he extends the meeting to 11:30.
Brief correction from earlier: I'd reported the city clerk was drinking a Red Bull. She tells me it was actually a sparkling water.
Commissioners now discussing whether they can figure out a way to address their parking concerns and grant Black-Olive approval tonight (several are saying they're quite nearly on the fence with their vote).
Mehl is now making a non-controversial motion requiring the project to have a minimum of 32 bike storage spots.
Commissioners have voted 4-1, with I-Ho Pomeroy dissenting, to deny Holloran's current Black-Olive application.
That means he'll have to modify the design and resubmit if he wants to forge ahead with the project, the city's planning director says.
Holloran doesn't sound like he's ready to give up on the Black-Olive concept yet.
"We'll just have to regroup and decide what's best for the project," he says.
"It's a great debate," he also says. "Parking is the issue driving the project."