HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-14-17 Public Comment - E. Clark - Short Term Rentals1
Clerk Temp
From:Eleanor Clark <eleanorwclark@gmail.com>
Sent:Wednesday, June 14, 2017 11:31 AM
To:Agenda; Chris Saunders
Subject:Letter Opposing Vacation Rental Proposals
Categories:Public Comment
Good Morning Chris,
Please forward my letter opposing the vacation rental proposal to the appropriate place. While I support the proposed
changes to R1, I do not support the changes in R3 particularly and I do not support the 525% increase in fees!
Thank you,
Eleanor
City Commissioners of Bozeman
June 12, 2017
Commissioners,
While I understand your concerns about vacation rentals in R1 Zoning, I do not
support the effort in other zones, particularly R3 Zoning. I feel your latest
regulations are a prime example of government overreach and excessive regulation.
If approved, what was a functioning system will cost much more time, governmental
paperwork and of course, a 525% increase, per year, in cost to those providing
vacation rentals.
Many using their homes for vacation rental are doing so to augment retirement
incomes. It is not a wildly profitable endeavor. These homes provide a service to the
community and visitors. Many people prefer to stay in a home, especially if visiting
students at MSU or staying for longer than 3 days. Many travelers would rather stay
in a home than a hotel, though hotels are proliferating.
It seems your focus is on the historic portion of Bozeman, zoned R1. Yet you are
entangling all the other zones in this latest proposal. Currently, the system is
functioning quite well in all but R1 Zoning. So fix that particular issue. Don’t
penalize and complicate the entire system. All that paperwork is going to bring the
system to a stall, and most vacation rentals will not comply. Your proposed system
is too complicated and expensive. The current system takes long enough. It costs
between $40-80 dollars. Now it will take much longer and cost nearly $500. That is
outrageous. How can you justify that sort of an exponential increase?
Vacation rentals are not going to disappear nor should they. They provide a
legitimate service welcomed in most other cities. I cannot find another city
proposing this sort of extensive regulation and expense. Have you forgotten the tax
revenue they provide?
What are you going to do about existing vacation rentals, many of whom are already
booked through December? Are you going to make them get another fire inspection,
since they already had one to comply with the current system? Or wait to go
through your paperwork tangle?
This is a ridiculous waste of time and inappropriate for a governmental agent. The
commission needs to focus on issues like traffic congestion and growth, not on
things that are working. They should not be complicating government regulations
and creating this sort of additional excess or expense.
For the record, I am in support of limiting vacation rentals in R1 zoning only. Not in
the other zones and not at the proposed level of government paperwork or
incredible expense.
Eleanor Clark