HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-24-17 Public Comment -M. Brown -ShortTermRentalsMr. Mayor and Commissioners,
On Friday I wrote to you giving you some of the statutes that govern me and the
rental of my home. This is my personal letter to you and a few more statutes are
included below.
Who I have rented my home to:
Tell me, what is the difference between these people that have lived in my home?
1) In the last couple of years I rented to a lovely family of four from Bozeman
that needed a place to stay for a few weeks because they had sold their home
and were waiting for another to be finished.
2)I rented to a couple from town that could not stand living with their
mother another moment and needed a place to stay with their cat while
looking for a longer term and more affordable rental.
3) I rented to a famous couple from out of state that comes here every
summer for 6 weeks.
4)Last year, I had my relatives stay for few weeks while I was away to watch
the place.
It’s not a trick question. All of these people have one thing in common. They lived
as any family does in a home and had an agreement to do so with me. They used my
belongings with my permission– and did so for less than 30 days. Some of them
paid me with dog grooming or meals, and others with dollars.
I have yet to rent to a tourist for less than 30 days or even advertise on a website.
But according to these proposed regulations, you will regulate and register me
differently from those who do anything similar in this city for a longer period of
time.
Are you really just trying to regulate tourist rentals or are you catching up everyone
in your net that has a need to rent for under 30 days (including month to month
rentals in Feb. or week to week rentals)?
And here is the real catch:
If I have to abide by the laws governing this state then you do to! Specifically as an
Owner Occupied Tourist Home, and or a residential rental renting for any length of
time with a rental agreement – as a single-family residence, the Landlord Tennant
Law governs me. These laws declare that any local government cannot “regulate
their activities with regard to tenants beyond what is provided in Title 70, chapters
24 and 25.” The City may “require landlords to comply with ordinances or
provisions that are applicable to all other businesses or residences within the local
government’s jurisdiction.”
Therefore, please tell me, if you are going to register me on a public site and require
my personal contact information (via a registration number) to be broadcast nation
wide on advertising sites, are you going to do so to every other type of residential
rental? Are you going to be requiring that of every business within your
jurisdiction? Do I have to give up my constitutional right to privacy?
And in the rules, a misdemeanor will be given and registration is discontinued if
there are complaints made that are substantiated. Will this be similarly applied to
hotels and motels? Will a Type 3 vacation rental loose their registration in a similar
way to a hotel and motel? Or will a hotel and motel get preferential treatment when
the police are called for a disturbance?
Are you really going to define “Owner-Occupied” residences using an out of context
condo rule in the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) for loan mortgages that define
condos occupied by an owner as one who lives there for 50% of the year? Or will
you recognize that the Montana statues for residency (1-1-215 MCA) which
basically requires that a “residence be used as a place where a person remains when
not called elsewhere for labor or other special or temporary purpose and to which
the person returns in season of repose” is sufficient? Or will you recognize that
Federal Tax law has successfully defined vacation homes and their personal use for
quite some time?
In conclusion:
I realize that you are trying to protect and promote the character of Bozeman and let
tourists experience it first hand without them over running neighborhoods. But for
me and those that need to periodically (or even regularly) rent their own home to
both residents, workers and vacationers in order to make ends meet and help pay
our taxes – we are the fabric and character of Bozeman. We don’t have a lot of
other options to be able to own homes in this increasingly unaffordable town.
Personally, I would rather register my guns than my home.
Sincerely,
Marilee Brown
406-579-5447