HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-07-19 Public Comment - M. Brown - Short Term Rental License(1)From:Whimsy House
To:Cyndy Andrus; Andrea Surratt
Cc:Kenneth Phillips; Planning Technician; Agenda
Subject:Licenses are really messed up on the CITY end!
Date:Monday, October 07, 2019 3:13:14 PM
Dear Madam Mayor and Madam Manger,
Moments ago, I just received a CERTIFIED letter at my office (which is my registered mailingaddress) stating that I did not have a registration for 3971 Bosal street (my primary home and R-3zone) and was subject to code enforcement. I previously have not received any other letters.
First of all, I do have a registration. My approved number is BCA-16670 which wasauthorized on June 5, 2018.
Second, I went into the City in early June of 2019 and talked to the woman at the desk asking herhow to check and see when my license needed to be renewed. I explained that I had not been ableto access the information on line. She told me that the staff even has a difficult time looking thisinformation up. She looked up the information and told me I was in compliance and wouldreceive a renewal letter in the fall at my business address.
As an aside, I must say that throughout the complete STR process, you have made it very difficultto get and stay in compliance. I even sat down with the mayor a few weeks ago to tell her this.
Is this a way of discouraging STR’s? Recently the same planning department has compared us tohotels on the affordable housing study making it look like STR homes number in the thousands. Hotels are trying very hard to compete with STR homes on the same platforms that we advertiseon. With your assistance, I would say that hotels have done a really good job at trying to makeour own homes unaffordable.
Third, when trying to straighten out this whole registration mess, I immediately called KenPhillips at the number that he published for contact - supposedly at Community Development. Amessage came on stating that the "Planning Division” was closed on Monday’s (which I havecome know is the place to get any kind of a license). And the email to contact is“planningtech@bozeman.net" What? Well, I guess you do need a “tech" to figure out how to fixthe system.
I have no words for how frustrating all of this is.
I think that a City that needs funds should be asking, How hard are we trying to make it to getlicenses? How much money is the City going to waste on certified letters to citizens that havetried to comply? I have heard similar examples from Dog owners through Developers on manydifferent licenses needed within the City.
Please consider yourselves contacted as requested in the letter which is attached. I expect to get anice apology letter, email or phone call from someone in charge on Tuesday when the City is opentelling me how to renew my STR. And I expect the below letter to be removed from my file ormarked as a mistake.
Please, for the sake of the City and its citizens, please straighten this mess out for all kinds oflicenses.
Marilee Brown
406-579-5447