The case for selling city library land

OUR OPINION

Plans to sell land near Peets Hill to developers to help pay for a new library have been met with dismayed voices decrying the loss of "park lands" and "green space."

The sale of city-owned land is never going to go down without serious opposition -- and it shouldn't. Publicly owned land within the city is only going to become more dear in the years to come. But that doesn't mean the sale of city-owned land can never be justified.

In the case at hand, there are a couple of things that argue for the sale.

First, the land in question must not be confused with Peets Hill -- a dearly loved piece of city parkland used by joggers, walkers, dog owners and sledders for years. The city acquired that land nearly 15 years ago from the family that had owned it, and it had been a popular recreation area for long before that.

The land that is proposed to be sold was acquired much more recently, August 2001, specifically as a site for a new library. At that time it was an asbestos-contaminated eyesore, the site of an abandoned railroad depot.

The city purchased some 14 acres at that time, only about half of which will be needed for the library. It's the remaining seven acres or so, a narrow chunk that winds southward from the Main Street library site, that may be offered for sale. The original purchase included a parking area used by Peets Hill users, but that has been specifically eliminated from the sale proposal.

Secondly, a new library has been established as a top priority for the city -- the top priority named by City Manager Chris Kukulski when he took office a few months ago. Sale of the seven acres could raise a badly need million dollars or more toward that project.

It should also be noted that city officials say developers have already expressed an interest in the land for a multiple-family housing project. Such a project represents the ideal kind of infill that should be promoted by the city to discourage sprawl in the areas immediately outside the city.

City officials should always be cautious when considering the sale of any land it owns. When a community is experiencing the kind of growth Bozeman has, it's a dead certainty public land will be needed in the future for unanticipated demands.

But that doesn't mean any proposal to sell city-owned land should be dismissed out of hand. There are strong arguments for selling the seven acres in question, and those arguments must be considered.