HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-16, Osman, Vacation Homes, Public CommentGreetings Mayor and Commissioners, I want to express my opinion on short term rentals in
Bozeman. I've lived in my neighborhood for 16 years. Our neighborhood is a wonderful place
to live because we all know each other and live respectfully alongside each other. I hope we can
retain that with people who actually live in the homes. More importantly, my daughter has been renting in Bozeman for 5 years. Every year her rent goes up and she thinks of looking for a less
expensive place but the rental market is non-existent. She has searched for more affordable
rentals but there are simply next to no rentals to be found. It's not possible for her to buy a house
so she needs to have rentals available. You talk about affordable housing and I see $400,000
cottages being proposed. Really? If that's the way Bozeman is going it probably cannot be stopped but other towns have met the challenge of rentals by limiting short term rentals to a
minimum of 30 days. Check out Jackson Hole where that's the law. Since home prices are
escalating, don't you owe the members of your town a chance to at least rent a home or an
apartment? Unless you tackle this problem, where will the residents reside???
Mary Lou Osman