HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-17-20 Public Comment - K. Thane - Comment for 7-20-20 Commission MeetingPreface: It was the intent of CAHAB to present to you the priorities and recommendations of CAHAB that had been
voted upon and approved by the Board. Due to the nuances of the requirement for public noticing, the City Attorney
advised us that we couldn’t vote on the priorities we wanted to move forward. As a result, I am submitting these
comments as an individual member of CAHAB.
July 17, 2020
Commissioners:
In accordance with the City of Bozeman Community Plan, the City’s Strategic Plan, the Community Housing Action Plan
and the charge of the Community Affordable Housing Advisory Board, please prioritize the following Action Strategies in
order to further the development of Community Housing:
1. Continue the use of Down Payment Assistance and Impact Fee deferral as a tool to assist first time home buyers
in obtaining financing.
2. Audit and amend the Bozeman Unified Development Code so that it encourages the building of entry level to
moderately priced dwelling units to include single family stand alone homes, townhomes, row houses, modular
homes, condominiums, and multifamily units. To this end I request that the Community Affordable Housing
Advisory Board, along with other stakeholder groups, be used as a resource when the RFPs for the
aforementioned code modifications are being created so that the ideas of CAHAB may be considered for
inclusion in the language of the RFPs. Specifically, as happened with recent consultant contracts for the
development of the Community Housing Action Plan and the Bozeman Community Plan, meaningful discussion
with local stakeholder groups who have invested years of time addressing issues and have vast experience with,
and understanding of, local issues did not happen. Instead, stakeholders and community members have been or
are being relegated to a very cursory placing of dots and other trivial strategies to indicate their preferences
without any explanation of the issues, or using 3 minutes of public comment time at a Commission meeting to
air their views. It is my recommendation that the RFP language include a requirement for discussion with
stakeholders and that any deadlines for the completion of work be flexible so that work products are not less
than desired due to the need to have completion by a date certain. Inviting CAHAB to provide ideas and
suggestions for the language included in the RFPs will result in a better outcome since the RFP defines the work
to be done and the way it is to be accomplished because, in the end, you get what you ask for.
3. Adopt a framework by which City owned land or land that is acquired by the City may be easily placed in a City
sponsored or endorsed Community Land Trust.
4. Create a framework and strategy for the acquisition of land to be used for community housing. The lack of land
on which to build housing poses one of the most significant barriers to increasing the supply of Community
Housing and increases the cost of the end product. The City should make a serious effort to acquire vacant in-
holdings, especially the county owned land behind the Gallatin Rest Home, and other appropriate land to be
used for Community Housing and should implement a plan to fully utilize parcels of land it owns that would be
suitable for Community Housing such as the city owned parcel at West Oak and Laurel Parkway, and the land
near the softball complex along Highland Boulevard. Additionally, a plan should be formulated to ensure that
Community Housing is constructed on the excess right of way that the City is acquiring for the Fowler connection
(SIF 114).
Respectfully Submitted,
Kevin Thane, Chair
Community Affordable Housing Advisory Board
3432 S 29th Ave. 59718