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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-02-16, Pohl, Vacation Homes, Public CommentHello, my name is Otto Pohl and I live at 525 South Black in Bozeman. Honorable commissioners, I would like to address the issue of vacation rentals. To be honest, I’m surprised it has become an issue apparently worthy of emergency legislation. Listening to your meeting about it last week, Commissioner Mehl said that there are over 19,000 houses in Bozeman, and estimated that there may be approximately 300 vacation rentals in the town. That’s 1.5%. That hardly sounds like an epidemic. In a city block with 10 homes, there is an 85% chance that there’s not a single vacation rental on the block—and even if there is it’s still a high likelihood that it won’t be rented all year, since most vacation rentals are offered by traveling homeowners looking for a little extra income to help cover the mortgage. Moreover, it became clear through the discussion that vacation rentals have a long history here in town. This is a town whose prosperity depends on tourism, and has done so for a long time. So is it a problem? Last week, when vacation rental agency owner Suzy Hall said that they had recorded 3 complaints over the decades, Commissioner Carson suggested that it was unclear if the two complaints he had heard of were part of that number. So let’s add them together. Does five complaints amount to a problem? I’m struggling to imagine how many issues you discuss here at the Commission level have fewer than five people who have a problem with it. The main justification for action was to protect the “fabric of the neighborhood.” That sounds like one of those mom-and-apple-pie type things to defend, but what does it really mean? People are moving in and around all the time. In rental blocks there is constant turnover. Are you claiming that travelers coming to town are ripping apart this mythical fabric? How does where the traveler sleeps affect this fabric? Don't forget that many of the vacation renters are parents visiting their children who are studying at MSU, former residents visiting local friends, or couples trying out neighborhoods before committing to a long-term lease or a home purchase. Just because you’re staying at an address less than 30 days doesn’t mean you’re not part of the greater community fabric. It seems to me that there happens to be one block on Cleveland Avenue with several vacation rentals, and there happen to be a few very vocal, upset neighbors. Maybe that’s something that needs to be dealt with, but it seems to hardly rise to the threshold where government is justified in limiting homeowner rights. Let’s discuss the current regulatory framework. It seems like there are two tweaks that would be worthwhile. The first is to streamline the registration process. Using the CUP process is a square peg in a round hole. It should not require thousands of dollars, months of time, or individual Commission scrutiny to permit a vacation rental. There should be a simple issuance of a business permit and license. The default position of the city should be to allow vacation rentals. By the way, the state already acts that way—it takes minutes to register with the state of Montana to collect and remit bed tax. That’s the way it should be. Now what about complaints? The complaint process should also be streamlined, and any vacation rental with a sufficient number of complaints should be subject to fines, or perhaps having a license revoked. To the degree that you feel it’s worth commission time to work on this non-problem at all, this is where I would spend the most time. The city does not limit homeowner rights if a long-term renter creates a disturbance, so why should a short-term renter trigger that? It seems like an issue of fundamental fairness. However, it seems like some sort of recourse for properties with persistent noise complaints may be valid. In closing, let me reiterate that considering this issue is a classic case of government overreach. There will always be neighbors who enjoy sticking their nose into other people’s business, and it is the job of government, particularly in Montana, a state with a long history of limited government, to determine where it truly adds value to meddle. Aside from a few small tweaks to the current system, I propose that you leave this issue alone. Thank you.