HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-16-23 Public Comment - L. Pelling - Bozeman Resident statement in opposition to Ordinance 2149 - VOTE NOFrom:Lark Pelling
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bozeman Resident statement in opposition to Ordinance 2149 - VOTE NO
Date:Monday, October 16, 2023 1:02:23 PM
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Dear Commissioners -
No doubt you have already heard from many on why this ordinance is misguided and will not
achieve what you wish it would with regards to affordable housing in Bozeman. I agree with all these
statements with regards to this ill-conceived ordinance including the fact that STR's make up a small
part of rental housing in Bozeman, etc. What I want to emphasize is how the ordinance, as drafted,
coupled with the rezoning proposed in downtown Bozeman, favors large corporations and not the
local families who are figuring out how to get creative and continue to live in Bozeman on their
properties by turning parts of their spaces into short term rentable units.
I currently live on a downtown property that has a main home and a cottage. I live in the main home
and the cottage is a permitted STR. This STR is extremely popular. People love visiting Bozeman and
its downtown area and being able to experience our city more intimately than they can in a huge
hotel downtown.
Through my small STR, I also:
* pays a hefty fee to the city of Bozeman each time it is rented;
* employ a young mother and a college student to clean it;
* employ another young person to do maintenance for the STR; and
* employ a local landscape and snow removal company to maintain the property around the
cottage
The income from this cottage not only supports other Bozemanites, it allows me to pay my large
property taxes and my other bills. Money I make from my STR allows me to continue to afford to live
and work in Bozeman. It allows me to spend money here, supporting even more local businesses.
My permitted STR is also, importantly, NOT SUITABLE for long term renting! If I am denied the
ability to rent this as a STR, I will not be able to convert this to long term rental. It is simply not big
enough, has a tiny kitchenette and no storage. So the entire reason behind the passing of this
ordinance would be wasted by shutting down my STR. You would, instead, cut off a very important
income stream for myself and everyone I employ locally to help operate the STR.
I think the city is completely missing this important point - the City should be encouraging local
downtown residents to remain in their homes and protect the integrity and charm of this area by
keeping the current zoning and allowing its residents to get creative by building ADU's for STRs.
At the very least, grandfather in the already permitted STRs. I have three friends - all single woman
who have lived in Bozeman a long time and have put time and effort into converting some of their
space in STRs that are providing an invaluable income stream. This ordinance will end their ability to
stay in Bozeman. They will have to sell. They will move away. And the City will lose wonderful long
term residents who got creative in order to afford to still live here. I, myself, designed and built the
cottage to be a STR. It is not suitable for anything but. It is tiny. It is basically a hotel room suite. I will
have lost tens of thousands of dollars in building something that I can now no longer use as it is not
suitable for long term renting.
The City should also allow residents to qualify based on 50% occupancy. Allow people to leave for
half the year. The current world is more and more nomadic. Retired people who want to travel
should be able to leave for more than three and a half months and still qualify. Corporate out of
state owned STRs will be thwarted by 50%. There is no reason to increase to 70%.
The City should also allow the definition of residing in a home or on the property to include long
term renting it. If a person lives full time or rents their home full time, they should be able to STR an
ADU on their property. If the point is to not have downtown properties all turned into STRs, then
there is no need to differentiate between a long term renter and a homeowner living there.
The City has confusingly adopted 2131 and is simultaneously making moves to adopt a new
development code that will destroy the integrity of the downtown area. The actions of the City make
no sense - you are supporting big money developers through the zoning code changes and wiping
out income streams for local residents with 2149. Enforce the current STR rules first. Do not put the
onerous of affordable houses on the Bozeman families using STR's to afford to continue living here.
Do not rezone the entire downtown in a way that will encourage developers to tear down older
homes and build four-story condos that will definitely price out local families. Who is the City trying
to encourage here? Huge developments and squeezing out local families getting creative to be able
to afford to live here? I am so disappointed in the City's recent actions. These actions will lead to a
monochrome downtown filled with homes only owned by the wealthy out of state residents who
can afford a million plus home that can sit empty.
VOTE no on 2149. It is poorly drafted and will have disastrous consequences for locals.
Karrie Lark Pelling DeSpain703 E Fridley St
Bozeman, MT 59715