The application that proposed the Boutique Hotel on Mendenhall was denied by the Bozeman City Commission Tuesday evening after developers failed to prove that a 30-foot encroachment onto the Bozeman Creek’s setback had met the criteria for approval.
WATCH: Bozeman City Commission Denies Proposal for Boutique Hotel Due to Environmental Concerns
At the meeting, developers argued that despite its encroachment, a proposed 4-foot awning would improve public use of the Bozeman Creek section currently occupied by a parking lot.
But the creek has been a focus of restoration efforts since the Bozeman Creek enhancement plan was approved in 2009—bringing into question whether the hotel supported these goals.
Mayor Terry Cunningham says, "The creek has been hidden, it’s been culvertized, it’s been channelized, and basically tucked out of sight for many many years."
Some locations of the creek, like the portion near the proposed hotel, have not reached its potential yet.
"In some areas it just looks very urban. It looks very walled off with rubble piles and steep banks, and that’s not the way the river was intended," says Cunningham.
And while keeping in mind the corridor it serves for wildlife and water, Cunningham says, "The goal is to return it more to its natural state, to create more interaction with the creek, and more opportunities to enjoy the creek. We inherited these creeks. We inherited these rivers and it’s important that we are good stewards of them."
Moving forward, Cunningham says they plan to update the 2009 Bozeman Creek Enhancement Plan and use the Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan to guide future updates.
"We're gonna plant the flag and ask the community how would you like to interact with the creek, what is the Bozeman Creek of the future, and how do we get there?" says Cunningham.
