HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-17-23 Public Comment - M. Gold - Please say _NO_ to Proposed STR Ordinance 2149, or at a minimum fix it before considering it furtherFrom:Michelle Gillespy-Goldstein
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Please say "NO" to Proposed STR Ordinance 2149, or at a minimum fix it before considering it
further
Date:Tuesday, October 17, 2023 10:27:25 AM
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Dear Council,
Please do NOT pass Ordinance 2149 as drafted - important revisions needed to be effective
and to also protect homeowners and communities - and tourist revenue!I keep hearing that STRs affect affordable housing, but that rhetoric just does not translate to
what is true: look at the tourist homes Ord 2149 will actually impact: the mansions familiesrent aren’t goin g to translate to affordable housing.
The 306 licensed STR units in Bozeman represent just 1.36% of the city housing units.
If the concern is growing numbers, simply cap new licenses to say 4% or 5% - and reallycrack down on all the unlicensed rentals - those are the rentals to eliminate!
Address capacity maximums: 2 people per bedroom is plenty - eliminate the party houses byrestricting capacity to these maximums and enforce that!
Support those who do it right, keep the tourist revenue, and reject those owners who rent
"under the radar.” An outright ban won’t capture those folks.
With STRs a reported 43% of the Bozeman lodging base, where will tourists stay after aban? In a recent visit to Bozeman, we struggled to find reasonable lodging: we ended up booking a
hotel at the highway, which felt way overpriced but was half the cost of in town; parking intown was difficult, and we vowed next time to find a tourist home instead.
Take that option away, and what will happen to the tourism industry? Stay elsewhere, for sure- another town, another part of Montana.
Enable Enforcement to get a handle on the rental market - that is key to managing the
perceived issues, Please ignore the rhetoric, and anti-STR tag lines - look at the actualfacts.
How can 1.36% of the city housing be the problem?
Protect Montanans who rely on that additional income to themselves keep the homes we have.
Our neighborhood in NW Montana includes several homes which are a part of the area’s shortterm rental marketplace. Not everyone: many who have had their homes in the family for
generations leave the home empty when they are not here; others live here full time; and yetothers - our Canadian - canNOT be here >180 days of the year, and rely on that STR income
to improve, maintain and keep their homes. We find that the ability to rent a home actually boosts its value and assures that homes don't
become vacant deteriorating spaces. The improvements our neighbors make to their homesthat are funded by their STR revenue is impressive, and these homes are not homes that would
support the affordable and workforce housing that admittedly is needed in our area. Those
tourist homes bring revenue to our area, jobs to our workforce, and assure properties aremaintained.
Please vote NO!
Thank you!
Michelle
Michelle Gillespy-GoldsteinFlathead County, MT