HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-10-23 Public Comment - A. Sweeney - Empty Homes_(STR)From:Alison Sweeney
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Empty Homes?
Date:Saturday, October 7, 2023 10:57:54 AM
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How is our housing being used?
The Community Development Board met on October 2nd to examine amending ordinance
2149 regulating short term rentals (STR's). During this meeting city staff and advisory board
members agreed that Bozeman has approximately 22,500 dwelling units currently in the
city. 1774 more units in the pipeline.
Even if the number of STR’s (registered and unregistered worst case scenario) came to
1000 units, that would put us at 21,500 units. The population of Bozeman at the last census was approximately 54,000. That would put the average occupancy rate for dwellings in
Bozeman at 2.5 people per unit of housing. Nearly every long term rental unit in my neighborhood is currently at a much higher level of occupancy than 2.5, sometimes
squeezing 5 renters into one 3 bedroom home. Families (owning or renting) are also living at a higher occupancy rate than this.
Do we have that many single people in Bozeman taking up entire dwelling units by themselves? Or is there something else going on here? How much of our housing stock is
sitting empty, for whatever reason? I think we should study this before blowing up Bozeman with 3 story 8 unit apartment buildings on every lot. If you know of any study on this, please
let me know where I can find the report. It could be very instructive moving forward.
If we haven't done this study, I think the city should, before passing the new
Unified Development Code.
Alison B. SweeneyBernadette's Handmade JewelryBozeman MT406-404-5740alison-bernadettes.com