HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-18-19 Public Comment - E. Beck - Affordable Housing PlanFrom:Ellen Beck
To:Agenda
Subject:FW: Affordable Housing
Date:Monday, November 18, 2019 9:30:18 AM
From: Ellen Beck
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2019 9:27 AM
To: agenda@bozeman.net%3Fsubject%3Dagenda@bozeman.net
Cc: Peggy Trenk <peggy@gallatinrealtors.com>; sandyleehomes@gmail.com
Subject: Affordable Housing
As I am unable to attend tonight’s meeting, I wanted to enter the following into public record:
GAR has been honored to work with the City of Bozeman on the Housing Workgroup. The issue of
Affordable Housing is a difficult one and there are no clear-cut solutions.
Participating with many community organizations on the Housing Workgroup helped identify and
define areas and ideas that might help improve the housing situation in Bozeman.
However, GAR feels as if the consulting firm had a preset agenda. We voiced our concerns to the
City several times. In meetings with the group and the consultants, participants were often shut
down from suggestions or concerns. Many times the group was told by the consultants, “we are the
experts, let us do our work.”
Additionally, the timeline for such a heavy lift seemed to be extremely tight. GAR suggested a
relaxation on the timeline. The City heard that request and the consultants added several meetings
to the agenda. While the additional meetings helped, it still appeared that the consultants were
rushing the project with some hidden deadline in mind.
We respectfully request that more time be given to the plan as this is an extremely important plan
for our community.
Thanks for your consideration.
Ellen Beck
Government Affairs Director
Gallatin Association of REALTORS
2880 Technology Blvd., Suite #159
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