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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-05-24 Public Comment - L. Platt - Camping in the Right-of-Way DiscussionFrom:Logan To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL][SUSPECTED SPAM] Camping in the Right-of-Way Discussion Date:Monday, August 5, 2024 9:02:36 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. Hello, My name is Logan Platt. I live at 906 S Black Ave. I am writing to say that I do not advocate for increasing punitive measures on our houseless population. As we already know, a largemajority of these campers are working people in Bozeman. As we also know, Bozeman is in the midst of a Housing Crisis (the worst housing crisis in Montana). There are deep issueswith how this town has been developed and we are facing the consequences of that now. I do not think that this is a surprise to anyone on the Commission. I greatly worry about thepossible outcome of this discussion and the impacts of the Supreme Court Decision. Nationwide I anticipate the homeless population to be increasingly de-humanized,criminalized, and be pushed out of towns to be somebody else's problem. However, this does not address the true problems at play and will inevitably exacerbate the problem. Fines disproportionately punish those of lower economic status. Fines do not affect the wealthy. But fines for workers who are living paycheck to paycheck can be devastating and exacerbates financial instability making it harder for them to find permanent housing. Civil punishment results in Court Dates, Court Fees, etc. For people that are working full time to provide for themselves and their families, Court Dates can be a major obstacle. Lack of access to transportation, missing out on income for a court date, worrying about being fired for missing a shift, etc can be major obstacles for attending court. Missing Court can result in warrants, court fees, etc. that cause people to be labeled criminals and continue to add obstacles to gaining financial stability and permanent housing. Punitive measures will only add fuel to the fire and I worry about this outcome in our city. I have already heard so many hateful comments about the human beings that are facing housing insecurity and it would be incredibly disappointing to see that hatred reflected in the City's approach to the problem. It is clear that our current solutions to the housing crisis are not enough. Our current incentives result in increased density and the hope of cheaper housing in the future. Myself, and many other community members, are extremely doubtful that this will be the result as we can see historically that this approach has failed. Out of state developers will continue to profit, drive wages down for workers, and increase the cost of housing by building dense luxury units that are not attainable for our working people. Gifting developers with added density while getting in return a very limited supply of "affordable units," (I use quotations because I would not say anything in the Guthrie could in any world be considered affordable) is not enough. Pouring money into non-profits with limited return to solve our problems is not enough. We need actual solutions to our housing crisis. The State makes this hard on us, I understand, but there are solutions that can be implemented locally. Social Housing for instance. It was never confirmed nor denied by a Bond Lawyer if the Montgomery County Model could work here. A great first step would be to get Bond Counsel and get a real answer to this question. Social Housing would be a major step in the right direction that would give us local control, consistent revenue from the Publicly owned housing to develop more projects as needed, and most importantly, actual affordable housing for our community. Another option that would be excellent to look into is an Affordable Housing Overlay. Cambridge has done this. It has proven to be constitutional up to the Supreme Court. This can be done here in Bozeman and have tremendous effects. We currently are trying to gift density with little added benefit. An AHO would only allow for parcels to increase density IF the units are affordable. Areas that are zoned for R2 could continue to be R2, or they could be developed with twice the density if the units are guaranteed to be affordable. We cannot demand affordable housing through Inclusionary Zoning, but can implement an Affordable Housing Overlay which would accomplish increased density with guaranteed affordable units if the developer chooses to do so. I understand that housing is a complicated issue that the entire nation is facing, but we need to be able totry approaches that the City has not tried before or our steps to address this issue will not be enough.Housing the people is the solution. Please do not increase punitive measures on our houselesspopulation. Thank you for your time.