HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-11-17 Public Comment - M. Brown - Short Term RentalsFrom:Marilee Brown
To:Carson Taylor
Cc:Agenda
Subject:Your STR legacy
Date:Monday, September 11, 2017 11:03:42 AM
Dear Mayor,
Before you vote tonight on the STR’s I wanted to let you know some of the consequences of the ordinance.
1) My retirement dream will be dashed. I had hoped that my home in an R-3 neighborhood
would support me when I enter a retirement home some time in the fairly near future, but legislating a Type 3 STR "non residential" will prevent me from doing so with the HOA rules
that are very similar all over this valley. I now will not be able to support myself in a nursing home or some other facility. I will die alone, uncared for in my home or be forced to sell it,
leaving no inheritance.
2) Other retirement dreams for residents will come to halt. Many retirees that live in R-1 neighborhoods will not be able to “snow bird” as they planned. They will have to hire a
stranger to stay in their home if they can afford it, have it stand empty, or have to stay home because they can no longer afford to leave town as they had planned for so many years. I
thought you all just declared this a retirement friendly city!
3) Teachers and Professors will have to move out of your precious R-1 neighborhood near the university because they will not be able to afford to stay without summer income to support
their vacations or travels.
4) The cap has effectively ended all competition and will make tourism costs skyrocket for those that need to have a family home temporarily while visiting Bozeman. The people that
have proposed this to you are cheering this decision because free enterprise is ended and they now will be able to demand much higher prices.
5) The CUP fees will prevent many from taking a two week vacation. How sad.
The big result of all of this will be that R-1 neighborhoods become even more gentrified and
unaffordable for the average working citizen.
And all of this is because someone cried “the sky is falling”. Now it really will fall.
You didn’t listen to staff. You didn’t listen to the majority of the people. You declared all neighborhoods the same character for capping and disallowing Type 3 rentals. But then you
declared your neighborhood’s needs to have more character than the rest of town. Why? Because you have more lawn?
You went back on your word about bringing everyone “in” by the effective date. And every
huge amendment was done with no way for the public or staff to comment. We took you at your word, and it was no good. I was in the process of trying to sell one home and buy
another. Luckily I was able to get my ernest money back. I wonder how many others couldn’t.
Throughout this process anyone trying to comply with the rules found themselves repeatedly thwarted by staff and the commission. There never was any ordinance or resolution requiring
license by the City. I have a long page describing all the different things that I was told by the City, including in Commission meetings.
I believe that much of this ordinance can be challenged with state law. I believe that the City
will face many law suits in the future. I know that many citizens are organizing to do so. Is that worth it considering that you admitted publicly that currently there is no real problem?
Congratulations. I guess you are better off than the rest of us will be. You can afford to keep
your neighborhood special and privileged. Most of us will remember that for a long time to come.
Respectfully,
Marilee Brown579-5447