HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-16, Antonopulos_Mitchell, Vacation Rental, Public CommentDear Commissioners, Thank you for devoting serious time & council energy to the problematic VRBO explosion happening in Bozeman’s residential neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we are out-of-town this week on a long-planned family visit, so will be unable to attend tonight’s meeting. As you may recall, we wrote to you last month of our concerns surrounding the
Ian Woods CUP application, and we both testified against granting this type of exception to the R-1/R-2 zoning rules for commercial activity. We read with interest Ms. Thomas’s brief prepared for tonight’s meeting. We are very anxious that the city act to halt a practice that will seriously and negatively change the quality of neighborhood life in
Bozeman. Sam and I have lived with our two children at 1020 S 3rd Ave for six years. It is our one-and-only home, and we have
been very active community members in this time. We vote, volunteer, send our kids to neighborhood schools, are employed at MSU, and enjoy many of the fine community events that make Bozeman a great place to live every day. We chose our home for the central location and for the quiet residential character guaranteed by the R-1 zoning
rules. Our neighborhood brings together students and town residents in all walks of life, and we all benefit from the sustained commitment of long-term residents who’ve spent generations maintaining the positive environment we have now as well as addressing emerging problems. VRBOs are one such problem. At first they were a minor issue with most homes on the listings being run by
residents who live in their houses most of the year. However, this practice has rapidly changed! The Woods home on Cleveland is just one example of the many homes being rented on a short-term basis by owners who do not live in the homes at all. Realtors are now openly touting homes for sale as possible VRBOs in their advertising, and
investors (often under the cover of LLCs) are purchasing homes for short-term rentals. While this provides a lucrative income for those fortunate enough to be able to park large sums of money in the rising realty market, it is a completely commercial use of the property. R1 and R2 zoning areas are at odds with this use. R1/R2 residential
areas should support home owners and long-term renters who are vested in making Bozeman neighborhoods vital places to live.
So, given that VRBOs are incompatible with R1 & R2 zoning, what should we do about the problem? We propose the following actions:
1. Clarify that short-term rentals must conform to a series of clear rules including safety inspections and being confined to zones that permit commercial activity. 2. Deny any further CUPs in R1 & R2 zones for VRBO business activity.
3. Design a fee structure to pay for city enforcement perhaps similar to the parking permit system. The city should monitor the online rental market to detect owners trying to get around regulations. Citizen complaints
can supplement this enforcement to identify homes being inappropriately rented. Hefty fines should be assessed to remove economic incentives to flout the rules. In summary, we hope that the council will act quickly and decisively to stop a business practice, that while convenient for a few owners, will have long-lasting negative effects on the high quality of our residential neighborhoods.
Sincerely, Beth Antonopulos & Sam Mitchell