HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-27-23 Public Comment - Z. Brown - ]Public comment on Resolution 5495From:Zachary Brown
To:Agenda
Cc:Mike Veselik
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public comment on Resolution 5495
Date:Tuesday, July 25, 2023 4:29:58 PM
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Dear Commissioners & Mr. Veselik,
As a city resident who owns a home within the Bozeman High School Residential
Parking Permit District, I am writing in opposition to Resolution 5495, which will
raise our parking permit fee from $31.75/year to $36.75 (per car).
The original purpose of this parking district was to restrict overflow parking from
Bozeman High School students into residential neighborhoods - or so I've been told
by Kelly Wiseman, General Manager of the Co-op, who was on the Parking
Commission when that district was created.
That premise was based on a student census at Bozeman High that has since been
reduced by the creation of Gallatin High School. And also, when the footprint of
Bozeman High was different, there was less available parking for BHS students than
there is today. Today, we have less students and more available parking at BHS. Thus,
the premise of this parking district is obsolete.
Today, in practice, this district's parking permit fees exist as a regressive tax on
renters, homeowners, and Co-op employees - who are forced to buy permits and park
in residential neighborhoods. The justification for this parking district is no longer
valid - the facts have changed - so to raise the permit fee this year is a pretty cynical
move in my humble opinion, that considers only the parking division's revenue issues,
and disregards the underlying legitimacy and fairness of the parking district and
permit cost. In my view, the appropriate action would be to dissolve the district. And
if you can't do that until next year, at least don't raise the permit fee on hourly food
service workers, renters, and homeowners who are already struggling with a high cost
of living in this community.
The street in front of my house is a public street that belongs to all of us. To require a
co-op employee to pay $36/year to park on a public street in front of my home, and to
force a house full of renters to pay that permit fee per vehicle, is unfair and outdated.
Thanks for your service and for your consideration of my perspective.
Zach Brown
107 South 10th
Bozeman, MT
Cell: (406)579-5697