HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-16, Janzen, Vacation Homes Public CommentDear Commissioners:
I am writing to comment on the possibility of increased regulation of short term rentals in
Bozeman. I live with my wife and son in south side Bozeman. We currently rent out our home on a sporadic basis when we are traveling. Last year, we rented our home for approximately 25-30
days. I am both someone who has benefited from hosting short term rentals and someone who
cares deeply about building livable neighborhoods in Bozeman. I encourage the commission to
carefully consider the consequences of new regulation and to regulate only when the new rules
clearly improve the well-being of a broad swath of the population and not only a few entrenched interests such as hoteliers.
After reading the report compiled by city staff and noting potential impacts of STRs in Bozeman,
I raise the following comments:
• Impacts on neighborhood vitality: The report suggests that STRs are likely to be inhabited on a sporadic basis and that such empty homes are bad for neighborhoods. I would
note that there are many “second homes” in Bozeman where the owners are present only briefly
and the house sits empty for most of the year. I live across the street from one such home. It has
a definite impact on the activity and vibrancy of our block. The city cannot regulate the
occupancy of homes – it cannot force owners to be present. As such, restricting short-term rentals seems likely do little to improve neighborhood vitality. At a bare minimum, any
regulation should clearly distinguish owner-occupied homes from commercial STRs and
occasional rentals from full-time rentals.
• Impacts on housing markets and economic activity: STRs offer potentially massive benefits to the city by generating consider economic activity with low capital expenditure and little environmental or land-use impact. STRs offer another housing option for visitors to
Bozeman that doesn’t require the construction of new infrastructure or the use of increasingly
scarce Gallatin Valley land.
STRs seem unlikely to dramatically alter the availability of housing or affect housing prices, especially when STRs operate out of owner-occupied homes. There are many other drivers of
housing prices with far greater impact on housing availability, particularly population growth,
the prevalence of second homes, the ability to expand supply, and existing city and county
regulation. It seems odd to single out STRs for regulation on grounds related to housing
availability.
The benefits of STRs are broadly distributed throughout the economy; they do not accrue only to
hoteliers or tourism industry operators but to individual home owners and the service providers
they use. For example, we have employed a cleaning service before and after our guests stay in
our home and given them considerably more business than we would if we did not rent out the
house.
I again encourage the commission to act prudently in regulating STRs. It seems as though there
is considerable potential to throw out the baby with the bath water through burdensome rules that
would do little to improve neighborhood vitality or housing availability.
Regards,
Joseph Janzen