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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-03-23 Public Comment - R. Walsh - Community Development_ Type III STRFrom:reno walsh To:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Community Development: Type III STR Date:Monday, October 2, 2023 11:59:10 AM 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. Hello, My name is Reno Walsh. I live at 724 N Bozeman Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715. I am writing to this advisory board concerning their interest in Type III Short-Term Rentals. My family and I own and operate a Type III STR. We invested over $2000 and 40 hours into a Type III Conditional Use Permit seven years ago. The property that the Type III is on is adjacent to our primary residence with an alley in between the lots. There are two buildings on the lot with the Type III Rental. The other building is a small one-bedroom affordable rental. I moved to Bozeman in 1995. I have rented many rooms throughout Bozeman. I have been a Ski School Supervisor, a Sales Manager for a local Travel Company, I've started my own business, and now I am a Director of Operations at a local non-profit focused on climate chage. I have served on a City of Bozeman Advisory Board. Ihave served as the President of our Neighborhood Association for many years. My wife moved to Bozeman from before me. She graduated from MSU, twice. She was a teacher at Bozeman High. She is now a respected nurse at Deaconess. I moved in with my wife-to-be thirteen years ago. She purchased our home fifteen years ago.Today we have two children, one is in fourth grade at a public school and the other in a local Montessori. Eleven years ago our neighbors suggested they wanted us to own their property. Wedid not have enough money to be approved for a loan to purchase the property. Those owners worked with us and we were able to purchase the property via a contract for deed and $7000 down. Several years later that property had increased in value and we were able to buy in outright with a loan. At the same time, we had our first of twochildren. Parents and relatives were visiting more often. They would stay in hotels because our home is small. We decided to increase the amount of our loan so that we could make improvements to the property we were purchasing. We invested an additional $200,000 into the home. We installed energy-efficient windows andappliances. We rewired the entire property. We restored the historic qualities of the home. We made a significant investment so that we could rent it out on a short-term basis when parents and relatives were not visiting our growing family. We have hosted over 1000 guests. All have rated their experience at the rental and inBozeman 5/5. Until recently I have not seen the City of Bozeman regulate short-term rentals beyondrequiring permits. I am not aware of any properties or property owners that have been finedfor not following the regulations the city has put in place. Because of this lack of regulation, there are now more non-permitted short-term rentals within the city limits than permitted. The situation is more dire outside the city limits. There are thousands of non-permitted short-term rentals in Gallatin County. It seems to me that there are actions that this board and our City Commission could do before they even consider punishing their law-abiding community members by revoking a Type IIISTR Permit. Personally, if our permit is revoked, we will not be able to cover the mortgage for that property and our own Primary Residence. The rentals are my personal retirement plan, asmost non-profits do not offer any significant retirement plan. The thought that our kids might be able to move into the long-term rental if they choose to attend MSU someday, goes away.Do we think about selling both homes and moving somewhere that is more affordable? I don't know the answer and I hate that I even need to be thinking about it as I drop my kids off atschool this morning. But I am. I recognize that there is an affordable housing crisis. I recognize that people are suffering. I know it is hard. I believe these people are trying their best. I have reason to believe that Bozeman will see more affordable housing on the market in thefuture. The City is exploring all possibilities. I believe the City of Bozeman is trying its best. Sunsetting all Type III Short-term Rental Permits will not have a measurable positive impact on the affordable housing market. Sunsetting all Type II Short-term Rental Permits will have a measurable negative impact onmany here in our community who are also trying their best. Personally, I know my wife and I are working very hard to make it work here in Bozeman and it seems like more and more, The City of Bozeman is only trying its best to make it harder forthose of us who are fortunate enough to have somehow planted some roots in the community and who now serve the community in many ways. I hope you will continue to consider all of the options when it comes to today's affordablehousing crisis. I also hope you will take some time to consider all of your constituents, not just those who might be the loudest. I hope you will consider the fact that we are all only tryingour best. Thank you.