HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-21-16 Miller, Vacation Rentals - Public CommentDear Bozeman City Mayor and Commissioners,
I live in Alaska, where our second largest industry is tourism. It is so vital to our economy that there are free courses taught to business owners and employees on how to treat visitors so they
feel welcome in our city. In the summer our hotels book out at sometimes exorbitant rates.
Providing alternative accommodations to a hotel is extremely important. Consider the family of
6 who cannot find a hotel room that will accommodate them, or the grandparents coming for an extended visit who want cooking facilities and a room for the grandkids to overnight, or the families coming for MSU graduation (I know from personal experience that even vacation
rentals are booked solid that weekend), or the traveler with a pet.
Covenants and HOA's. Covenants and HOA restrictions are typically the place to protect the
residents from unwanted activity in a specific neighborhood. Ordinance. This is a great tool to insure that short term rentals are properly vetted. Prior to
purchasing our townhouse at Legends in Bozeman we had a vacation rental in Palm Desert, California. In the past several years the city of Palm Desert has developed and modified an
ordinance for short term rentals. This ordinance is reasonable and thoughtful, not cumbersome
for the property owner, and protective to the community. This is the only other location I have any experience with operating a vacation rental in and found the ordinance to be fair and
sensible. Attached is the ordinance and forms for short term rental operators. Palm Desert is a
relatively small community of 50,000 and has a tourist based economy.
City Income. The city would benefit greatly from a nightly bed tax on short term rentals. Most
travelers expect a bed tax, and in fact Airbnb has made agreements with some cities to actually collect these taxes from every booking (Anchorage, Alaska for one).
Economic Impact. When accommodations are limited, so are business travelers and tourism, which directly impacts local businesses and employment.
Right to Rent. A ban is not the solution and could embroil the city in expensive litigation, such
as is happening in cities that have banned short term rentals.
Please consider a thoughtful ordinance that will bring income to the city, keep tourism healthy,
make owners responsible in their short term rentals, and leave prohibitions up to the
neighborhood covenants.
Please see attachments Thank you,
Joy Miller
1890 Perch Dr. Fairbanks, AK 99709
907-378-9996
joy99708@yahoo.com
Bozeman Vacation Rental (managed by Mountain Home):
2563 Maiden Star Lane, Bozeman, MT. 59715
Bozeman Long Term Rental (self managed)
2285 Buckrake Ave., Bozeman, MT. 59718