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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-17-23 Public Comment - C. Meyer - Please vote NO on Ordinance 2149Hi City Commission, I request you vote no on Ordinance 2149. While I am an advocate of affordable housing solutions, this will not be an answer to affordability and will temper the benefits of tourism to our community. The commission can certainly pursue other avenues for affordable housing in terms of future real estate development requirements, but taking my house off the STR market (STR permit number STR22-00056) would result in a long term rental of $3,000/month to cover my mortgage and expenses, which is hardly an affordable option. In addition: 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 and will harm efforts to create affordable housing. i. STRs are not transferable to affordable housing units. 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. ii. STRs bring tax revenue that can be used to create affordable housing. Just like hotels, there is an 8% total lodging tax on a stay in an STR. Local entities get funds from that tax pool, which can be used for promoting tourism or partnerships to create affordable housing options, among other things. 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. Many thanks, Corey Meyer STR22-00056 Reply Forward From:Corey MeyerTo:Agenda Subject:[EXTERNAL]Please vote NO on Ordinance 2149 Date:Tuesday, October 17, 2023 10:04:36 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.