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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-08-23 Public Comment - C. Gillam - STR OrdinanceFrom:Claire Gillam To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]STR Ordinance Date:Monday, August 7, 2023 4:51:26 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Bozeman City Commission, As a business owner, employer, and property owner in the City of Bozeman, I have some concerns regarding an ordinance being contemplated by our elected officials. And before judgement is passed on what I think or believe, I would like to be clear that I have been a long-time proponent of workforce housing solutions. The ordinance being considered is a wider ban on short term rentals (STRs) in the city limits. This first came to my attention when a small, special interest group got some publicity calling for such an ordinance. It first seemed comical because such an ordinance logically can’t have a meaningful effect on housing affordability in Bozeman. That being said, Bozeman Tenants United has time, resources and now it appears the commission’s ear, so we are treating it as a legitimate threat to Bozeman’s property owners’ rights. Currently, the city has on the books ordinances, including the recently passed 2131, that closely regulate and restrict short term rentals. Those restrictions were based on some foundation of logic and reason (although the federal courts disagree with that reasoning and have determined no residential rental is to be construed as a commercial use), and I do not oppose, and frankly encourage, the enforcement of existing city ordinances. What I do not support is new law, layered onto old law not being enforced, that is passed based on emotions and feelings. I have reached out very respectfully to the Bozeman Tenants United because I had assumed that if a group was pursuing creating new law, that the group would have answers to some of the obvious questions regarding the benefits of implementing the law they hope to pass. Those questions have all gone without response. Anytime a group is unwilling to engage in civil discourse to talk about their position I question the merit of that position. This group is very good at painting a narrative, but it is just that, a story. It is not based on empirical evidence that this type of additional regulation would help any of the people their group hopes to support. Conversely, the groups that have now had to step in to bring some direction to this discussion like the STR hosts, platforms, real estate professional, and STR owners will be providing numbers to show the inefficacy of such laws. They will go one step further to show the other, negative economic impacts of further regulation of STRs. You would be robbing many homeowners of a tool that they work hard to use to CREATE affordability for themselves and their families. You would be stripping opportunity for the cleaners, maintenance people, lawn care and snow removal providers who depend on the additional income to be able to afford to live in our community. You would be taking away housing from travel nurses who depend on short term rentals to be able to come work in our hospitals. You would change how tourists engage with city businesses and where they spend their money. You would be infringing on private property rights. But most importantly you would not move the needle on bringing housing to ‘poor and working class’ people as the proponents of additional regulation hope. We can’t let small special interest dictate to our commission what laws should be passed based on feelings. It is that very behavior that has negatively impacted housing affordability. Small special interest has swayed the city commission to vote against the professionals who administer the Bozeman Planning & Zoning Board on Zoning Map Amendments that would have added hundreds, if not more, units of housing to our market, it is small vociferous special interest that prevented viable student housing projects from going in near the university and forcing those students to the outskirts of town, further burdening and congesting our town’s infrastructure, it is small special interest that has added layers of architectural guidelines to the UDC robbing developers of their most affordable home plans, and small special interest that has pushed for the use of tax dollars to preserve historic homes, park and open space, or remove actual affordable homes to make way for more parks. Regulation has largely contributed to a reduced number of housing units and higher housing costs. More regulation is not going to rectify the challenges we face because of those earlier regulatory choices. Not being one to fight against issues without proposing alternatives, I would like to revisit some of the suggestions that the business owners, the Chamber of Commerce and myself have been pushing for since housing affordability was first slipping away in Bozeman. The most recent UDC is a great example of the city leadership’s constant assault on housing affordability through regulation. The open space requirements, length of time and cost to navigate permitting, onerous off site improvement costs and now even architectural design guidelines have taken away the opportunity for builders and developers to put together some of our most affordable projects. So, the easiest and most cost effective way to lower housing costs in the city would be through a speedier permit process and lighter regulation as well as investment in city infrastructure. This is how real supply is created. If the city insists on subsidies to create affordability, you have to consider alternatives to throwing money at housing itself. With the current cost of land and housing, it is a highly inefficient use of taxpayer dollars. Consider a subsidy instead to allow for quality, affordable daycare. Quality affordable daycare does two great things for our city. It brings parents that are staying home with kids back into the workforce, while bringing a second income back into the household. We all know that one of Bozeman’s biggest challenges is finding quality employees. There are many out there that are not working because of the cost of daycare. The cost of one single family home in Bozeman could operate a 60 child daycare for 3 years. This would make a huge difference for a significant number of families’ ability to afford Bozeman by greatly increasing household income. Public transit would be the third leg of housing affordability that should be considered. It is common across this country that the critical workforce for a town or city or metropolis is not able to live right where they work, or in the very best or most desirable areas. Because of heavy regulation the vast majority of our city is very desirable, and therefore expensive. We must consider, then, that not all of our workforce is able to live in the city proper, and the best thing that our city can do to bring affordability to our workforce, is bring accessibility to Bozeman from the communities, like Belgrade, that are actually working on meaningful affordable housing development. I am sure that inter- municipality public transit is fraught with regulation, but for lawmakers that is the type of puzzle you are tasked with putting together. Making commuting easy and affordable brings real housing to real people that are working in Bozeman. It seems that the first of these is unlikely since the voting record of our city leaders, and the citizens themselves, has proven time and time again that we are far more interested in Pretty Bozeman than Affordable Bozeman. It also seems that we want to try to throw sums of taxpayer money at the problem, so maybe we can do that in a more effective, efficient, and impactful way. At this moment in time, let us at least not further regulate short term rentals, and watch the litany of ‘unintended’ consequences unfold. Once we have put this discussion behind us, let us then engage in ways to make meaningful differences for Bozeman’s workforce through efficient use of the resources available to us. Your job is a difficult one, but the decision on whether to pursue additional STR regulation is a simple no. Thank you Claire Gillam -- CLAIRE GILLAM Managing Broker, ABR, GRI 406.556.2242 office | 406.581.4070 cell | 406.586.7591 fax 2001 Stadium Drive, Suite A Bozeman, Montana 59715 bhhsmt.com A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Equal Housing Opportunity. All information contained herein is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.