HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-23 Public Comment - A. Christenot - Vote NO on Ordinance 2149From:Andy Christenot
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Vote NO on Ordinance 2149
Date:Monday, October 9, 2023 8:37:36 AM
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City Commission,
PROBLEMS WITH THE CITY’S APPROACH AND REASONS TO OPPOSEORDINANCE 2149.
a. Ordinance 2149 is not necessary. While there is a shortage of affordable housing
in Bozeman, vacancy rates for rentals are on the rise. Bozeman’s HRDC is
reporting that there is currently a 7% vacancy rate for rentals in Bozeman.
b. Ordinance 2149 will not help create affordable housing. Bozeman
commissioned a study this summer by a firm called Economic & Planning
Systems, Inc. (or EPS). EPS found that about 63% of STRs are valued above the
median value of housing units. Those homes are far from being affordable. If the
City stops them from being rented short-term, they will not be converted to
affordable housing. For the vast majority of Bozeman STRs, those STRs are not
transferable to affordable housing units. As a result, cracking down on STRs does
little to nothing to improve the affordable housing crisis we have in Bozeman.
c. Ordinance 2149 would create an unreasonable burden on property owners in
exchange for a very minimal public policy impact. The City shared that there
are 306 registered short-term rentals, and there are 22,500 total housing units
(homes, apartments, etc.) in the City. That means that STRs are 1.36% of
Bozeman’s housing stock. Type 3 STRs, which the Ordinance would ban
outright, are just .31% of Bozeman’s housing stock.
d. Ordinance 2149 is premature and will be confusing.
i. Ordinance 2149 includes new charts for what types
of short-term rentals will be permitted in what zones, but the City is inthe middle of rezoning. Through its Development Code update work,
the City is rezoning, and properties in one type of zone now may wellbe in a different type of zone when the Code is completed. It does not
make sense to pass Ordinance 2149 in the midst of the developmentcode update, which makes it impossible to tell for sure what types of
STRs will be permitted at what addresses in the future.
ii. Also, the City just passed Ordinance 2131 this
summer, If the City were to enforce that, the City would shut downhundreds of STRs that are operating without a City license. Until that
Ordinance is implemented to determine what kind of impact it will haveon the lodging base, housing, and the economy, it doesn’t make sense to
take even more STRs out of the market.
e. If Ordinance 2149 does not grandfather existing STRs (if the Commission
ignores the Board’s recommendation), it will be depriving property owners of
vested property rights through a retroactive or ex post facto law. Many owners
have spent thousands of dollars upgrading their properties to rent them out, and
they made investment decisions to buy and rent their properties. They use that
income to pay their bills and support their families, and they had reasonable
expectations about the use of their properties. If they are forced to stop renting,
they may be in violation of mortgage agreements or 1031 exchange requirements.
When the City created the first STR ordinance in 2017 (Ordinance 1974), it
grandfathered existing STRs, and Montana’s zoning laws (including county
zoning statute, Mont. Code Ann. § 76-2-208) call for protecting prior uses that
would otherwise be non-conforming. At a minimum, the City should offer
grandfathering now.
f. Ordinance 2149 would permit hotels and bed and breakfasts in many zones – but
not short-term rentals. And it would shut down all Type 3 STRs, even in
commercial zones. From a policy perspective, that is unfair and illogical, and it
favors hotel and other corporations over Montanans who are just trying to
make ends meet. As the Board heard last Monday, many STRs are owned by
local Montanans – most are not owned by large out-of-state investors or national
corporations.
g. STRs are good for Bozeman’s economy.
i. They fill a critical need for lodging for tourists,families bringing kids to sporting events or school, and visiting
professionals. The EPS study that the City conducted this summerfound that STRs account for 43% of the lodging base in Bozeman.
Many of those are operating without a City license, so if the City cracksdown on those (by implementing Ordinance 2131 that it passed this
summer), and then cracks down on the legally operating STRs at thesame time, there will be a large shortfall of available rooms. According
to the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce, tourists brought around $1Billion into the Bozeman economy in 2022 – to restaurants, recreational
activities, and lodging.
ii. STRs bring jobs for Bozeman residents, including
those who work in lawn care, snow removal, cleaning, construction,painting, paving, property management, security, and trash collection,
not to mention those who work in local restaurants, bars, retail stores,and recreation outfits. Beyond the immediate employment opportunities
STRs bring for the folks that help maintain these properties, the rentalincome employees other citizens and families inside the community that
also contribute economically to the city (health care workers for agingfamily members, etc.). There is a far bigger economic reach that these
STRs provide to Bozeman that affords many local residents to live hereand further support the local economy.
Andy Christenotandychristenot@gmail.com