HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-16, Hooker, Vacation Homes Public CommentDear Sirs;
This letter is in regard to Short Term Rentals.
I live at 1102 South Third Avenue. My understanding is that this address is in a R-1 zoned area.
I built an ADU over my garage in 2003. It is my understanding that at that time I signed an
agreement with the city stating that I must live on the property in order to rent either my house or
the ADU for 30 day or longer. ADU rentals for shorter periods not allowed.
I do not rent my ADU above my garage. I do not rent my house. The purpose of my ADU is to
give my grown children, who do not live in Bozeman, a place to call their own when they visit
Bozeman. It is essentially my guest bedroom with a kitchen attached.
I find it very difficult to understand why any number of my neighbor’s houses can be turned in to
a commercial hotels via AirB&B, or a similar internet sites, simply by applying for a conditional
use permit from the city. How is that in any way possible given the restrictions placed on my
ADU in the same R-1 zoning district?
I value my neighbors even those who rent the homes they live in. We know and support each other. We look out for each other. We are more then just neighbors we are friends. Any house
that is converted to a short term rental subtracts from this neighborhood. It lessens the bonds that
make a real neighborhood. Regardless of how quiet, polite, or friendly short term visitors are
they have no attachment to the neighborhood thus can not be neighbors. They will never notice when an elderly neighbor is not see for a while. They will not offer to lend a hand when snow need to be moved, or grass mowed, or tools borrowed. What these short term rentals do is
remove a housing unit from the neighborhood and replace it with a commercial business. It
detracts rather then adds value.
I am apposed to any conversion of neighborhood housing to full time absentee owner short term rentals either by individuals or faceless LLC entities. I am less concerned about an
ADU where the owner is actually in attendance.
No amount of promises of availability by the absentee owner or an agency is worth anything. It is too easy to provide a number to a phone that is simply ignored. The only way to get the
owner’s attention will be to call the Police which puts a burden on the city..
As a test you might try, in the late evening, dialing up the agency responsible for the Ian Woods
approved CUP rental unit at 304 W Cleveland. I have been told by two people who have tried the number that the answering machine is always full.
A moratorium is needed. The city needs to act right away.
This is not something that can be ignored, or beaten to death by assigning a committee to spend eons endlessly discussing it.
There are plenty of examples of how other cities have handled this problem. We need to build
one that fits Bozeman. This is a recognized problem see around this country and other cities in
the world.
The rules need to take in all state laws as well as city ordinances. These rules must be clear and
make compliance the easy option. There must also be inspections with methods for collaring the
scofflaws.
Perhaps a moratorium will need to stay in place until the state gives the city a method of taxing these operations.
Sincerely,
Alan Hooker & Emily Hooker 1102 South Third Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
(406) 587-4325