Baxter Meadows developer wants to buy back the 100-acre park

In Bozeman's Daily Chronicle on Wednesday, April 2nd, Dave Richardson reports that the developer of the Baxter Meadows subdivision wants to buy back the 100-acre regional park from the county and he is suing the county to do so. The stated reason according to the Chronicle is because the county intends to use 2 acres for a new fire station and 911 call center.

I find this lawsuit ludicrous. Here are just a few things to consider:

• The closer a home is to a fire station the safer the home and the occupants are. In Bozeman, our fire department responds not only to fire-related calls, but also to health emergencies such as heart attacks. Currently the closest fire station to Baxter Meadows is on South 19th near Koch. If those folks are on a call, the next closest fire station is downtown Bozeman.
• The 911 call center handles emergency calls made by community members and dispatches the appropriate personnel such as police or fire. I am really having a hard time grasping how this is a detriment to the Baxter Meadows subdivision.
• Lastly, in the Chronicle article the developer states that he wants the land back and the conservation easement removed. Without the conservation easement the developer would be able to develop the property - build more houses.

According to the Baxter Meadows website the developer states "urban sprawl strips neighborhood[s] of many great qualities" and "this premier Montana development features a range of ... opportunities ... including the 100-acre regional park". I ask the developer if he is prepared for a lawsuit from every single property owner in Baxter Meadows and, while we're at it, throw in lawsuits from every single property owner, developer, and builder in the surrounding subdivisions, who also built and bought for the advertised regional park. The developer of Baxter Meadows created a synergy of development around this regional park and he will have to answer to that.

The developer issued a statement instilling fear that the county will carve out space for a jail or waste transfer station. According to the county attorney this land can be used for public good. I ask the developer if he really thinks these scare tactic propaganda are for the better good of the community - say a jail right next to the YMCA, at least 6 new subdivisions, the middle school and Emily Dickinson? I can't imagine even the government thinking that is a good idea!

So fight for your land back, remove the conservation easement and create more houses to, in your words, "...strip neighborhood[s] of many great qualities".

To read more about Baxter Meadows, including their position statement for the lawsuit, click here.

To buy a home in a well planned, integris community or to sell your Baxter Meadows home and move to well planned, integris community, send me an e-mail. I am happy to help. Connie@BozemanMontanaProperties.com.