Gallatin County approves Hidden Creek site-plan submission to City of Bozeman amid traffic concerns

The Gallatin County Commission on April 1 approved the Hidden Creek affordable housing projectsite-plan submission to the City of Bozeman after developers described changes to the plan and neighbors raised concerns about traffic circulation and pedestrian safety.

The submission, presented by Seth O'Connell of United Housing Partners and partners HRDC and United Housing Partners, shows the layout for future apartments, a county lot and a land trust parcel on property the county donated for the project. O'Connell said the site-plan packet will be amended to show a public right-of-way extension through the southeast corner to connect Oak Park Drive to Durston, and to reserve "10 parking spots" for the future county lot. "There will be an amendment extending the public right away down through the southeast corner of the site," O'Connell said. "...10 parking spots on the narrative, and as well as the cover sheet will be described as being reserved right now and ongoing for that county lot."

Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said Hidden Creek is a rare opportunity to add permanently affordable housing close to jobs, medical services and downtown Bozeman. Commissioners said the development includes units targeted to 30 percent AMI and that the parcel's land donation and tax-credit eligibility helped make the project viable.

What developers said: O'Connell said the submission reflects multiple prior financing and plat iterations and that the project team held a neighborhood meeting on March 17. County planning representative Susan Riggs said the team wants to ensure site-plan conditions in the executed purchase-and-sale agreement are carried forward and that the plan would not preclude a future alignment of Oak Park Drive if adjacent parcels redevelop. "We just wanted to make sure that the executed PSA agreement, conditions and terms were all addressed in the site plan," Riggs said. "...we still do want the opportunity to talk again about Oak Park Drive going through even though the city has indicated that they don't want it to go through at this time."

Neighbor concerns: Chris Waters, a property co-owner in the area who said he has experience in municipal planning, said the traffic analysis understates local effects and warned that Juniper Street, a narrow residential street, will receive most of the development's traffic. "All traffic is going to enter on Juniper Street," Waters said. "That would be an estimated additional 1,281 trips per day, which will more than quadruple recurrent traffic of 318 vehicles per day." Waters said left turns from Juniper at 15th Street could create long queues because left-turning vehicles must wait for gaps and because winter snow can narrow Juniper to a single lane.

Developer response and mitigation: O'Connell and Riggs acknowledged there will be traffic change and said travel patterns often adapt, citing other local route changes. O'Connell said the county and developer earlier sought an Oak Park Drive connection but that the city and Montana Department of Transportation had not supported an additional connection at that location. The development team said they are working with the city on pedestrian crossings to improve safety for people walking to nearby Oak Meadow Park and that an emergency access/fire-lane and pedestrian easement are included for future connectivity to adjacent lots.

Commission action: Commissioner motioned to approve the Hidden Creek site-plan submission to the City of Bozeman; the commission voted in favor and approved the submission. Commissioners praised the multi-year effort between the county, United Housing Partners, HRDC and the city, and noted the project's 30% AMI units will serve households at the greatest local housing need.

What remains: The approval is for the site-plan submission to the City of Bozeman. Final design, city approvals, and any changes required by the city's review process remain to be completed.