HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-16-23 Public Comment - D. Carr - Please Vote _No_ on 2149From:Donald Carr
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Please Vote "No" on 2149
Date:Monday, October 16, 2023 2:15:29 PM
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Bozeman City Council,
I am emailing you to ask you to please vote "No" on Ordinance 2149 for the reasons listed
below...
a. Ordinance 2149 is not necessary. While there is a shortage of affordable housingin 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 and will harm effortsto create affordable housing.
i. STRs are not transferable to affordable housing
units. Bozeman commissioned a study this summer by a firm calledEconomic & 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 affordablehousing. For the vast majority of Bozeman STRs, those STRs are not
transferable to affordable housing units. As a result, cracking down onSTRs does little to nothing to improve the affordable housing crisis we
have in Bozeman.
ii. STRs bring tax revenue that can be used to create
affordable housing. Just like hotels, there is an 8% total lodging tax ona stay in an STR. Local entities get funds from that tax pool, which can
be used for promoting tourism or partnerships to create affordablehousing options, among other things.
c. Ordinance 2149 would create an unreasonable burden on property owners inexchange 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 banoutright, are just .31% of Bozeman’s housing stock.
Don CarrCarr Montana Real Estate
www.CarrMontana.comKeller Williams
406-209-5333