HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-11-17 Public Comment - B. Antonopulos - Short Tern RentalsFrom:Beth Antonopulos
To:Agenda
Subject:Final adoption of the STR ordinance and fee schedule
Date:Monday, September 11, 2017 2:57:20 PM
Dear Commissioners,
As full-time Bozeman residents, we appreciate that over the last 15 months the City Commission has taken concrete action to
limit the rapid growth of the STR industry in our residential neighborhoods. We have participated in many of the meetings
concerning the issue and have provided feedback to you throughout the process.
Thank you for listening to all and for revisiting the staff proposals to achieve a workable system for regulating this
commercial activity! While the ordinance up for a final reading at tonight's meeting is not as restrictive as we would
personally prefer, we do see that it is a compromise between the individual desires of STR operators and the expectations we
permanent residents continue to desire for our homes (and are provided for in our zoning regulations).
We urge you to approve this ordinance without further changes.
We also hope that you will approve the proposed fee schedule. Enforcement and safety are primary concerns for this STR
policy to succeed. The fees will help ensure that the city can provide adequate safety inspections, maintain the publicly-
accessible registration database, and pay for effective enforcement of the regulations. The CUP process and fee for
grandfathered, previously illegal, operators will ensure that neighbors are informed and individual site characteristics are duly
considered before allowing non-conforming STRs to continue operations.
The argument has been made that the fees punish the "little guys." However, if you use $250/night (a mid-range rate
for many of the unlicensed VRBOs currently operating in our university neighborhood) multiplied by two weeks per year (the
period requested by several commenters), the revenue generated in one season ($3,500) is more than enough to pay for the
one-time CUP and fire inspection fees. The rest of the fees for enforcement and database maintenance are fixed costs that do
not change depending upon the number of nights/year of rental operations. Every STR operator should be able to contribute
to the cost of doing business in our city.
Thank you again for your careful consideration of this issue and for your on-going commitment to continuing our
neighborhoods' high quality of life!
Sincerely,
Beth Antonopulos
Sam Mitchell