HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-07-23 Public Comment - M. Ackermann - Short Term Rental BanFrom:mary@maryackermann.com
To:Cyndy Andrus; Terry Cunningham; Christopher Coburn; Jennifer Madgic; I-Ho Pomeroy
Cc:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Short Term Rental Ban
Date:Saturday, August 5, 2023 3:27:46 PM
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Dear City Commissioners,
I am opposed to banning short term rentals in Bozeman. There is a need for that type of housing in
every community. I have owned two rentals, side by side condos on the south side. One was an
affordable, long term rental and the other was a short term, VRBO- type rental. Typically the short
term renters were temp nurses at the hospital, families of long term recovery/surgery patients at
the hospital, people with food allergies that needed a kitchen to prepare their own specialty foods
while travelling, professors on sabbatical or research projects, and family of students with disabilities
that needed transitional support. (These are renters that can’t afford long motel stays and eating out
for 3 meals a day in Bozeman.) After the last changes to the STR regulations, I decided to sell the
units...now neither one provides affordable rental housing. I have friends that are 3rd generation
Montana ranchers and farmers who purchased a rental in Bozeman for their children to live in while
going to MSU. They rent it out for short term use during the summer to high school teachers who go
to MSU for their 2 week annual accreditation. The owners depend on their kids coming home in the
summer to work on the ranch and also on the income from the summer rentals to help pay the
mortgage and put their children through college. And finally, a small number of the short term
rentals are high end ($$$$) condos and townhouses where the owner lives part time, and would not
provide year round living for a tenant. I do not believe further regulating this industry will provide
the type of housing you are seeking.
I believe you need to build it from the ground up. There are Federal Housing assistance grants to
help construct decent, affordable homes and apartments (not high rise tenements) and provide rent
subsidies if necessary. The local HRDC has been doing this work for years, on lots of different levels.
Continue to promote their efforts. Give them more tools, land, money, whatever they require to
step up their affordable housing efforts across the city and county. Include other communities.
Building some of the housing in Belgrade, Four Corners or Three Forks can take some of the pressure
off of Bozeman and the rents may be lower. The oft quoted statement that STRs increase monthly
rents of other properties is simply not true. They are two different markets responding to two
different end users.
Affordable housing is part of a bigger issue that many cities and states are facing, and cannot be
resolved by banning STRs. The focus on STRs certainly raises awareness of the issues, but it does
nothing to solve the problem.
All the best, Mary
Mary Ackermann
406-587-2950
mary@maryackermann.com