HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-12-23 Public Comment - T. Barlow - NO on Ordinance 2149From:Thomas Barlow
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]NO on Ordinance 2149
Date:Tuesday, October 10, 2023 3:51:43 PM
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I am writing to express my opposition to Ordinance to 2149 to further restrict Airbnb usage in Bozeman.
I bought a residence in Bozeman in 2020 allowing me to rent my unit as a Type III residence and rent the property.
It is shocking that some of the same council members that enacted that law are considering changing the law and
banning me from using my property as the law they just created was intended. I would think that people in Montana
would respect property rights of owners and allow them to use the land as it was intended when they bought it. I
only have 720 sq feet of land that I own in the entire world which is in Bozeman, but apparently the council
members are intending to change their minds on a law passed within the last 6 years and not let me use that land as
intended. I literally bought in Montana to get away from politicians that took away my individual rights, but am
finding that the politicians are just as bad here and what they are doing will probably be an even bigger impact to my
life. It seems that an angry mob of people shouting at them is all that matters and facts, what is right, having
integrity and keeping their word to the people that invested much of their life savings in housing in the town is not a
consideration.
I pay between $50-$65 an hour to cleaners for my property and have hired property managers in the past who have
probably earned far more on an hourly basis. By banning me from renting the STR, hotels will be built and these
people will have less work and be displaced by hotel workers who will make far less than half the hourly wage. It is
shocking that the council members would want to kill high wage jobs for local residents to be displaced by lower
wage jobs working for large corporations.
Where I live is in a commercial area. This bill simply gives corporations the right to rent out buildings in
commercial areas through hotels but does not give people the right to rent out their units in commercial areas. It is
shocking to me that the council members believe that corporations should have more rights than people and are
voting to take away my individual rights as a person.
Bozeman will immediately lose all of the rental tax revenue from my unit is more than double what I pay in property
taxes.
Moreover, there really will be no benefit to affordable housing that comes from this change. It is clear that most of
the properties used for Airbnb will just be rented out monthly at higher levels than what most people in town can
afford or sold to out of state residents as vacation homes to people who can afford to just keep it empty for many
months out of the year (also having more units kept empty is a waste of resources and bad for the local economy and
environment). More new construction will be devoted to hotels vs condos, but none will be devoted to affordable
housing. The housing is not affordable because the land value and construction costs are simply too high to build
new affordable housing without incentives or special zoning considerations. This bill simply will not impact that. I
understand housing is a problem for many residents. But I also feel cancer is a problem. I have very negative
feelings towards charlatans that sell magic elixirs to cure cancer. And I equally have negative feelings towards
charlatans that are telling Bozeman residents that banning Airbnbs will help with affordable housing. Whether they
are just saying that to boost the hotel industry or just uneducated enough to truly believe there will be a benefit is
unimportant, they are falsely getting peoples hopes up and encouraging them to waste their energy on something
that will ultimately have no benefit for affordable housing.
On a personal note, I spend a fair amount of time in Bozeman staying at my condo when it is not rented. This law is
basically going to mean that I either need to become a full time resident or sell my place and not be able to spend
time here. My work may not allow me to live here full time so this change will effectively mean that I no longer will
be able to spend any time here. When I do spend time here I support local businesses and that will be gone. But I
sincerely feel a lot of hatred and animosity directed towards me by some people in this town. I did not grow up in
Bozeman and do not live here full time, but I still feel that I am a good person and treat other people with respect. It
feels that groups of people judging me because I was not born here, because of my income level, or any othercharacteristics and working to change laws to force me out of town is just an act of hatred and shows a deepintolerance for anyone that is different from them. I would hope that the council members, who simultaneouslyauthorize spending tax money to encourage people to move to Bozeman and visit Bozeman, will vote No onOrdinance 2149 to show that all people have a right to live in to enjoy Bozeman and that it is not fair to disparagepeople and take away their property rights in a way that only benefits large hotel corporations (has no impact onaffordable housing as mentioned above) just because some of the people that own those units were not born here anddon’t live here full time.
I really hope that common sense and acceptance win out in this case instead of hatred and animosity towards peoplethat are different and therefore villanized as outsiders.
I am glad to discuss any of this further with anyone if it would be beneficial.
Thank you,
Tom Barlow718 W Babcock St, Unit 311Bozeman, MT 59725(714) 916-4166