2013 General Meeting

3 Replies

Slides from the General Meeting are here.

With overwhelming approval of the membership and board, BCPOA will pursue an appeal of the Petty CUPs and variances. An amendment to the initial complaint will be filed soon. The initial complaint will likely be followed by briefs within a month or two and a court hearing for summary judgment some time later. Because some points of the case are constitutional, BCPOA hopes to recover some litigation costs.

Concerning the interchange about Bridger Pines’ sewage lagoon dewatering, see Gallatin County’s report, Bridger Pines Site Visit 092012. An excerpt:

Discussion & Summary: Again, I did not find evidence of a ‘dam breach’ or massive sewage leak. I was also unable to tell if the existing pump discharge is more than normal for this historically leaking lagoon. But there is water from the pond reaching Bridger Creek after flowing down slope and through meadows a distance of about 1/3 rd mile.

See also the Fire department issues post.

Variance Hearing

1 Reply

This Thursday, April 11, there will be a Planning & Zoning Commission hearing for a variance to enable conversion of two barns to residential use. The variance is required because the structures lie well inside the 100-foot setback from Bridger Creek. This makes the structures, which predate zoning, nonconforming, and therefore it is not permissible to substantially alter them and change their use.

Sadly, this is another tale of “build first and ask for forgiveness.” Construction commenced without permits, in spite of written notice from the Planning Department that permits were required. The Commission has again failed to take any meaningful enforcement action. This is hard to understand, because the Commission has recently taken enforcement action against other landowners for less serious violations, and is ignoring the very precedent that it spent our tax dollars to set in the MT Supreme Court in the Theken barn case.

This is the second time this variance has come up for review; the first was in January. BCPOA unanimously opposed the variance then, and now. Testimony from the January hearing is in BCPOA comment Petty CUP 2013-01-09.

The plain language of the zoning states that a variance may be granted only when, due to special circumstances of the property, strict application of the zoning deprives a landowner of privileges that others enjoy. In this case, there is no such deprivation, because the property has several acres of buildable land outside of setbacks. Therefore the letter of the law should prevail and the stream setback should be respected.

If you wish to express your opinion on this matter, you can attend Thursday’s hearing, or send a brief note to the Bridger Canyon Planning & Zoning Commission regarding the Petty Variance, at planning@gallatin.mt.gov.

The following memo details problems with permitting and enforcement of the project to date:

BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09

BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09 Exhibits 1-10

BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09 Exhibit 11 Theken decision

Testimony for the upcoming hearing will be posted here as it becomes available.

BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09
BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09 Exhibits 1-10
BCPOA-Petty 2013-04-09 Exhibit 11 Theken decision

BCPOA comment Petty variance 2013-04-11

BCPOA comment Petty variance 2013-04-22

[google-map-v3 width=”350″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”hybrid” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”10600 Bridger Canyon Rd, Bozeman MT 59715{}1-default.png{}Petty CUP & Variances” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]

Possible Cell Tower Appearance

8 Replies

Update: Atlas Towers’ renditions are at http://zoning.posterous.com/atlas-cell-tower-mockups

Here are some very rough renderings of cell towers at locations currently under discussion. Bear in mind that these are probably worst-case, as tower heights are likely to be lower. The renderings do not represent tree cover, which would reduce the appearance of height, though neither location offers dense tree cover. A stealth tower design and smaller antenna arrays could also reduce the visual impact.

“Bridger Ski” tower

Bridger Bowl, with a 130′ tower just south of the propane tank in A lot. Very rough envelopes of the Saddle Peak lodge and ski patrol building shown for scale.

As seen from Bridger Pines, looking across the base area:

BridgerSkiFromBP

As seen from the entrance off Hwy 86:

BridgerSkiFromEntry

“Bridger South” tower

A 150′ tower on the Brunner property, at the bottom of Kelly Canyon. I placed this about halfway upslope on the narrow parcel, though the actual location is not known to me.

From the Schoolhouse:

BridgerSouthFromSchoolhouse

From Kelly Canyon at the Bridger Woods Rd. turnoff:

BridgerSouthFromKellyBW

Bridger South – Taller

Update: There are conflicting reports about the location of the South tower needed for connectivity. If the tower would have to be tall enough to see over the ridge to the south, it would look more like the following:

BridgerSouthFromSchoolhouse2

Tree cover would conceal the bottom portion of the tower, possibly diminishing the impression of height. But it would be difficult to maintain tree cover with foundations, roads and other site improvements on steep slopes.

[google-map-v3 width=”350″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”hybrid” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”45.816051° -110.894324°{}1-default.png{}Proposed cell tower at Bridger Bowl|45.692992° -110.927496°{}1-default.png” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]

Possible Cell Tower Coverage

3 Replies

Last week, Atlas Towers representative Tierney Rowe met (separately) with Bridger Bowl’s board and BCPOA directors. There is not currently a proposal before the commission, but discussions are progressing. The following coverage maps are one product.

Hi Folks, these are .jpgs which you can download and then zoom into, showing the various types of coverage that the towers currently proposed by Atlas Towers would accomplish.

There are two proposed sites, one at Bridger Bowl called BridgerSki and the other at the Brunners’ property [in Kelly Canyon] called BridgerSouth.

Each individual site has two propagation maps representing coverage by 850 MHZ or 1900 MHZ. Apparently each frequency has pros and cons so they are mixed for best results.

Then there are two “composite” maps that show coverage over the entire Canyon with Bridger Ski and Bridger South coverage mixed, at each frequency. Not sure why we didn’t get a map that shows both frequencies together over the entire canyon.

Remember that these maps are based on a 130′ tower at Bridger Bowl and a 150′ tower at the Brunners. Clearly, the taller the tower, the better the coverage. I understand from several sources that the BB Board is not considering the 130′ tower and wants to see something in the 60′ range. And I think it fair to say that an 150′ tall tower at the Brunners would elicit considerable local concern.

That being said, when you look at these propagation maps keep in mind this is a best possible scenario which is based on tower heights that are very unlikely to happen. [In particular, the 130′ tower at Bridger Bowl was a no-go with the board.] Hence, coverage will be less complete than what is shown. See Tierney’s comment below about tower height.*

Kent Madin

* “The primary goal is good coverage and tower height directly correlates to the quality and density of coverage in these locations where terrain issues place limitations on signal transmission.”

Composite850mhz Composite1900mhz

Composite coverage maps at 850 and 1900 MHz. Click to enlarge.

Update: Overlays of the coverage map with zoning district boundaries (blue), parcel lines (yellow) and structures (orange dots).

850MHz:

CoverageOverlay850mhz

1900MHz:

CoverageOverlay1900mhz

Bridger Canyon Natural History Evening, March 29

Leave a reply

To the Residents of Bridger Canyon,

A number of people, in conjunction with the the Bridger Canyon Historic Preservation Association and the Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS), have volunteered their time and expertise to enjoy and explore with Bridger Canyon residents an evening of “Bridger Canyon Natural History”. We would like to enhance this presentation with a display of photos or photos of artwork (no originals) from YOU, BC residents, which depict unusual/interesting natural history features of Bridger Canyon – geologic or water formations, birds, animals, plants both common and rare, etc.

This community event for Bridger Canyon residents will be at the Fire Station MARCH 29th, 7pm. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please send them at your earliest convenience to:

Kathrin Olson-Rutz at : olsonrutz (at) netzero.net.

She will print 8 1/2X 11″ copies for the display. (You may also mail or deliver 8 ½ X 11” photos to MOSS, located at the Fish Hatchery). Please provide a few words that describe your contribution (what, general location, when) along with your name and contact information (email and phone number). This information will be printed out along with your photo to accompany your contribution. Feel free to provide several photos. We will display as many as we reasonably can. (No copyrighted material please.)

This spring, we would like to take the pictures we have printed out and assemble them into several “Bridger Canyon natural history notebooks” to be kept at the MOSS facility. These notebooks will be available to MOSS students and Bridger Canyon residents to identify and learn about Bridger Canyon plants, animals, water and geology. Residents are welcome to submit additional information specific to Bridger Canyon for these notebooks and can do so through MOSS.

For those unfamiliar with MOSS, it is dedicated to help children gain meaningful appreciation of the natural world around them through various educational projects (K-12 and some adult classes). MOSS takes the classroom to the field with trips to National Forest lands in Bridger Canyon, as well as to some private lands onto which they have been specifically invited for learning opportunities.

I hope you find this of interest! For more information, contact Ellen Trygstad (582-7624) eltjupiter (at) earthlink.net Thank you!

To the Residents of Bridger Canyon,

UPCOMING EVENT! A number of people, in conjunction with the the Bridger Canyon Historic Preservation Association and the Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS), have volunteered their time and expertise to enjoy and explore with Bridger Canyon residents an evening of “Bridger Canyon Natural History”. We would like to enhance this presentation with a display of photos or photos of artwork (no originals) from YOU, BC residents, which depict unusual/interesting natural history features of Bridger Canyon – geologic or water formations, birds, animals, plants both common and rare, etc. 

This community event for Bridger Canyon residents will be at the Fire Station MARCH 29th, 7pm. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please send them at your earliest convenience to: 

Kathrin Olson-Rutz at :  olsonrutz@netzero.net.

She will print 8 1/2X 11″ copies for the display. (You may also mail or deliver 8 ½ X 11” photos to MOSS, located at the Fish Hatchery). Please provide a few words that describe your contribution (what, general location, when) along with your name and contact information (email and phone number). This information will be printed out along with your photo to accompany your contribution. Feel free to provide several photos. We will display as many as we reasonably can. (No copyrighted material please.)

This spring, we would like to take the pictures we have printed out and assemble them into several “Bridger Canyon natural history notebooks” to be kept at the MOSS facility. These notebooks will be available to MOSS students and Bridger Canyon residents to identify and learn about Bridger Canyon plants, animals, water and geology. Residents are welcome to submit additional information specific to Bridger Canyon for these notebooks and can do so through MOSS.

For those unfamiliar with MOSS, it is dedicated to help children gain meaningful appreciation of the natural world around them through various educational projects (K-12 and some adult classes). MOSS takes the classroom to the field with trips to National Forest lands in Bridger Canyon, as well as to some private lands onto which they have been specifically invited for learning opportunities.

I hope you find this of interest! For more information, contact Ellen Trygstad (582-7624) eltjupiter@earthlink.net   Thank you!

Commissioner Murdock Resigning

Leave a reply

County Commissioner Bill Murdock will be resigning next month. He will surely be missed in Bridger Canyon. He has often been a lonely voice on the commission in favor of the good land use planning that has kept the Canyon beautiful. From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle:

Editorial: Murdock was county’s voice for responsible planning

Posted: Sunday, March 17, 2013 12:15 am

The departure of retiring Gallatin County Commissioner Bill Murdock next month will mark the end of an era. For 16 years, Murdock has been a voice of moderation in what tends to be a conservative office.

County commission elections are dominated by the rural vote, which tends to be quite conservative on land-use and planning issues. And that vote is rarely overcome by the pro-planning faction among the county’s only real urban voters in Bozeman.

Murdock has long battled the headwind of those conservative tendencies. He has contributed heavily to successes in land-use planning and regulation as well as open-space preservation. He has also been a stalwart enforcer of policy in the face of frequent and well-financed challenges from real estate developers.

That influence will be missed.

Murdock’s term doesn’t end until the end of next year. His resignation triggers a process that will name his replacement on the commission – a person that will take the advantage of incumbency into the 2014 election.

law, the remaining two commissioners, Republicans Steve White and Joe Skinner will name Murdock’s successor from a field of three candidates suggested by state GOP leadership because Murdock is also a Republican.

Murdock’s departure and the process for replacing him have the potential to push the commission hard to the right. And that would not bode well for the future of some land-use issues in Gallatin County.

Republican leaders and White and Skinner are urged to consider all the county’s constituents as they appoint Murdock’s replacement. Filling the seat with another advocate for land-use planning and open-space preservation will maintain a healthy balance on the commission and stimulate vigorous debate on these very important issues.

Quality of life is what has drawn many immigrants to Bozeman and Southwest Montana. A big part of that quality of life is the open countryside and expansive views of our rural areas. And the County Commission plays a major role in preserving those amenities.

Choose Murdock’s replacement carefully. Find another powerful voice for smart planning and open-space preservation.

Lessons from the Theken Barn

Leave a reply

Two years of administrative and legal wrangling came to an end recently when the Montana Supreme Court told Randy Theken to remove his half-built barn below the “M.” This was an affirmation of both law and common sense.

To the residents of Bridger Canyon who invested their time and money to defend the zoning regulations in this matter, congratulations, your efforts were well spent and much appreciated. To the four members of the Bridger Canyon Zoning Commission (BCZC) who reviewed the facts, listened to the community and voted that the barn must be removed, thanks for standing with your regulations and your constituents. Thanks to Judge Salvagni, who affirmed the decision by the commission. And thanks to the Montana Supreme Court who saw the issue clearly in spite of what the court characterized as Mr. Theken’s efforts “to complicate an otherwise straightforward question.”

When a legal question winds its way all the way up to the Supreme Court, there should be some lessons learned beyond the details of building permits and “building envelopes,” lessons that strengthen the community.

First and foremost, is the simple maxim “Rules are rules.” If you can’t or won’t enforce rules, don’t make them. If it is your job to enforce existing rules, do it in an efficient, consistent and timely manner. After-the-fact administrative sleight of hand that forgives broken rules only encourages the breaking of rules in the first place. Much expense for all parties would have been avoided by Mr. Theken’s applying for a permit before starting his barn or working with the BCZD and his neighbors on a location or design that met the regulations. By proceeding solely on his own authority he has had to dismantle his barn.

“Well-conceived and strongly enforced land use planning is essential” said the Montana Supreme Court in 1995 when the court found in favor of Bridger Canyon Property Owners Association (BCPOA) when the property owners objected to higher than allowable density in the Bridger Bowl base area.

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for our organization, BCPOA, to cut through the jargon of planning and zoning and explain to Gallatin County residents just what we see is at stake in these zoning issues for both the residents and non-residents who enjoy the Canyon.

BCZD was created by grass-roots citizen petition 41 years ago to oversee an orderly and predictable process of development while fiercely guarding the qualities (water, air, wildlife, agricultural use, rural lifestyle) that define the ambiance of the Canyon and preserve the property values of those of us who live there. It has done a pretty fine job so far. For the second time in as many decades, the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed the core values and integrity of Bridger Canyon Zoning District.

Each of those Supreme Court cases, when you clear away the details, comes down to one simple concept: density. Here’s what the Master Plan said in 1971 (and still says, loud and clear, in 2012): “Agricultural preservation is a primary goal which is to be accomplished by limiting development to one housing unit per 40 acres, and providing for higher density under planned unit developments. The forty (40) acre minimum lot size is based on limiting population so that the capacity of the two (2) lane highway is not exceeded.”

In other words, once growth demands a widened road the rural and natural qualities of Bridger Canyon will be lost.

For the last several months a long overdue update of the Bridger Canyon Zoning Regulations has been underway. Reaffirming the original density restriction should remain the paramount objective – it goes right to the bottom line of property values. But over the last few years residents have seen indirect calls for higher density through a variety of dubious machinations and interpretations of the regulations. For both residents and those who travel the Canyon or recreate there this presages a gradual diminution of the space, the quiet, the wildlife and the vistas.

We look forward to working with the professionals in planning and our elected representatives in developing and enforcing a streamlined set of regulations that reaffirms and defends the core principle of density limitation, the clear intention of those who established the first zoning district in the State of Montana.

Kent Madin and Richard Lyon wrote this on behalf of the board of directors of the Bridger Canyon Property Owners Association.

[google-map-v3 width=”350″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”hybrid” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”45.709427° -110.985211°{}1-default.png{}Theken barn” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]