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 Welcome to the Bridger Canyon Property Owners' Association section.
"The purpose of this corporation shall be to do everything in its power to preserve the rural character and the natural beauty and resources of Bridger Canyon and the State of Montana; to use its best efforts in guiding and directing orderly growth and development; to maintain, through organization, a definite influence in all matters which may affect residence or property rights and enjoyment thereof by its members; and to hold regular meetings for open discussions of problems of mutual interest and concern to those land owners."
The Association has a very informative web site at www.bcpoa.net. To find up-to-date info, just check that site. Some of the info is linked here - see below.
The Bridger Canyon Zoning documents are posted as a link, as well as drafts of upcoming changes.
Property owners may add notices for the benefit of all members. Just click on 'Add to Bridger Canyon POA'.
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Bridger Canyon POA
Zoning Advisory Committee, Forest, Fire followup
March 25, 2010
1. Zoning Advisory Committee
On March 11, the commission selected a Zoning Advisory Committee.
Unfortunately there were few applications, so there were no choices. Here's the makeup of the advisory committee, as we understand it:
Rich Stoltzfus, Bridger Bowl, canyon resident Janis Eckert, Red Lodge, Base Area landowner John Barkow, Bridger Canyon Partners (Base Area landowner) Dick Clotfelter, Jackson Creek, BCPOA member Tom Fiddaman, BCPOA board Deb Stratford, BCPOA board Bob Morton, large landowner
Randy Elliott is an alternate for Bridger Bowl and Ellen Trygstad is an alternate for a BCPOA member. The commission intends to advertise for additional alternates.
A potential concern is that owners under 160ac, who make up 95% of the canyon population, are underrepresented (57% of seats), while the Base Area is overrepresented (1% of the land, surely less than 5% of the population, 43% of the seats), largely by nonresidents. I'll be seeking your input to help us ensure that the outcome is broadly representative.
2. Forest & Fire panel
We had great presentations and Q&A in the forest/fire panel on Tuesday night. Here's a short summary, and some links to web resources mentioned:
Crystal Hagerman, Gallatin County Extension, discussed funding opportunities for fuels reduction and defensible space. Programs focus on structure protection and evacuation routes, typically on 1 to 10 acre sites, or larger acreage with multiple homes. Cyrstal can be reached at 388-3213, gallatin3@montana.edu.
There's further information at:
http://gallatinextension.com
http://www.firesafemt.com
http://www.forestry.umt.edu/extensionforestry
Curt Tesmer, Montana DNRC, focused on the mountain pine beetle, which is currently in a severe outbreak. The bad news is that there are no short term controls for large areas; only long term forest diversification and other good silvicultural practices help. Specimen trees can be protected with verbenone or pesticides, but it's also important to get attacked trees down and disposed of, to prevent further spread. The good news is that they only attack pines, and our severe cold in October might have caught some beetles unprepared. Since spruce budworm is still around, and Douglas fir beetle could be on the way, it's a good time to be thinking about forest management. Curt is available for consultation, 556-4506, ctesmer@mt.gov.
Some useful links:
http://www.beetles.mt.gov/ Interagency site with pine beetle information http://www.montana.edu/pinebeetle/ MSU's management plan http://delicious.com/tomfid/BCPOA+Forest+Pests a collection of other forest pest links, including USFS leaflets on budworm and beetles
Fire Chief Dan Astrom demonstrated the new online burn permit system. It allows you to obtain a permit and look up active burns on a map, and prevents permit activation when air quality or fire conditions are unsuitable. The BCFD will no longer be selling permits. You can access the new system at http://burnpermits.mt.gov As with the old system, if you see a fire and are uncertain about it, don't hesitate to call 911.
Some other helpful links on burning:
The Larimer County web site for slash burning is:
http://www.co.larimer.co.us/health/ehs/slash_burning_guidelines.htm
(Good advice on building and burning slash piles, but note that agency references are for Colorado, not here.)
There are also more recommendations and an account of one of our burns at:
http://b2bcoalition.org/Articles/Slash_grs/gallery.htm
There are a number of other useful links in the above article.
The site for monitoring forest fires (all over the US) is:
http://inciweb.org/
Tom Fiddaman
Website: www.bcpoa.net
Canyon Zoning Enforcement Query Results
4/7/10
Thank you all who responded by email or on our survey form. I've posted responses as of today here:
http://bit.ly/b3bXp6
Briefly, the responses are overwhelmingly in favor of strong zoning enforcement. At least 90% of responses said something like,
'We must insist that the county follow the rules. It is not fair to property owners to allow violations that can obstruct our valuable views and reduce the value of our properties.'
'Although I would like to be lenient, the problem is that each infringement sets a precedence that creates a new standard. ... I see no practical possibility of selectively enforcing the ordinances.'
'We have to be aggressive, or we might as well just forget the zoning.'
Many identified a teardown as the appropriate response. Several suggested legal action against the county if the enforcement response was inadequate.
Two responses expressed ambivalence about enforcement and enthusiasm for barns, as in:
'We can't help but feel that it's a sad commentary when barns are this controversial in Montana. We have never felt that a barn detracted from the landscape and if this was to actually be a barn in the traditional sense, it seems wrong to deny the horses on this property a shelter. Was it just the placement of the barn that was at odds with the regulations?'
The issue with this barn is indeed placement, but also procedures. The structure would be acceptable within the building envelope designated for the site, but even so it is not acceptable to build without a permit. (Had the builder sought a permit, the current situation could have been avoided.)
I don't think anyone wants to waste resources with a teardown. However, it's important to remember that exceptions have wider repercussions. The zoning does not distinguish between good architecture and a lime green metal building, or between a 1700 sq ft barn and a 7100 sq ft arena. A modest exception in one place could set a precedent for a disaster somewhere else.
The beauty of a barn vs. the curve of a ridge may be in the eye of the beholder, but there's more than views at stake here. Building envelopes are also intended to protect open space for wildlife, watercourses, and other natural resources.
If this were an ordinary lot in the canyon, there would be few site restrictions. However, this is a PUD. At the underlying density of one dwelling per 40 acres, there could be two dwellings on the 100 acres in Brass Lantern, but the PUD provided five. That's a huge density bonus, easily worth more than a million dollars today. The price for that added density is supposed to be development of better quality and location of density in more appropriate areas, hence the building envelopes and other restrictions. The density is permanent, so the restrictions should be permanently enforced if the deal is to be fair to all of us.
As several responders pointed out, if zoning is not enforced it might as well be repealed - that would at least be fairer to those who follow the rules. Allowing PUD density everywhere would have a profound effect. Fully built out at the underlying zoning of one-per-40 acres, the canyon could already triple in population to over 1300 households, becoming bigger than Big Sky is today. At the PUD density of 1-in-20, there could be nearly two Big Skies.
Future density is probably the most fundamental question that the upcoming zoning update must address. As the process gets going, we'll be seeking your input about future visions for the canyon.
Thanks again for all the responses - this will be excellent support for our efforts to get the county to take meaningful action.
Tom
Website: bit.ly/b3bXp6
UPDATE - 5/08/10 - Tom Fiddaman
Friends of Bridger Canyon,
This is a busy month. Topics in this note:
- zoning hearing
- BCPOA newsletter & annual meeting
- zoning advisory board
- other events
Next week, Thursday May 13, The Bridger Canyon Zoning Commission is scheduled to discuss the Brass Lantern zoning violation (specifically, the application for a CUP to amend the PUD to eliminate the violation so that a permit can be issued). BCPOA opposes this application, and we’ve heard very clearly that most of you do to.
This would be a great time to stand up for our zoning. There are two things you can do:
- Attend the hearing. Even if you just stand up and say, “I’m in favor of
meaningful zoning enforcement, and I oppose this action to legalize a violation that harms Bridger Canyon,” it’ll make a difference – the commissioners definitely pay attention to participation.
- Submit a letter to the commission. Even a very simple one is helpful. You can send letters to Bridger Canyon Zoning District commissioners, c/o the Planning Department, planning@gallatin.mt.gov . If you copy us on your letter, we can keep track of feedback and be sure it all gets into the public record ( tom@metasd.com ).
I’ve already submitted a lengthy letter on behalf of BCPOA, which you can read here http://drop.io/BrassLantern along with a copy of the CUP application and other information as it becomes available. The letter includes the 16 pages of responses we received when we asked the canyon about enforcement last month. BCPOA board members will be at the hearing. Hearings start at 9:00; we don’t have an agenda yet, but expect the commission to complete the Greenridge PUD discussion first (public comment is currently closed on that).
The BCPOA annual newsletter will be in your mailboxes soon – watch for it.
The BCPOA annual meeting will be held on May 25th, 7pm, at the fire station community center.
The first meeting of the Bridger Canyon Zoning Advisory Board will be next week, Wed. May 12, 5-7pm at the Gallatin County Courthouse community room (on Main St in Bozeman).
Agenda
1. Call to order; roll call.
2. Public Comment (items not on agenda).
3. Overview of meeting logistics
4. Discussion of Staff Bridger Canyon Zoning Regulation review 5. Top five issues of importance regarding either the Bridger Canyon Zoning Regulation and/or Plans 6. Further Public Comment 7. Adjournment
The FD pancake breakfast & art sale is on May 22nd, 7:30am, at the fire station community center.
There’s a benefit Bluegrass concert May 29th.
MSU Extension is giving Forest Stewardship Workshops in Bozeman, June 3,4 and 11, 2010. See http://www.cfc.umt.edu/extensionforestry/calendar.htm
These events are on the BCPOA calendar, with additional details where possible.
http://bcpoa.net/calendar.html
Tom
BCPOA Web Site Update
The www.BCPOA.net web site has a new look and a great deal of new content, including extensive information on Bridger Canyon Partners' proposal for development in the Bridger Bowl Base Area.
Search there also for Zoning Regs and other information.
Website: www.bcpoa.net
Here is the latest association newsletter. Check back soon for future updates.
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