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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-24 Public Comment - C. Stillwell - AHO work session commentsFrom:Christy Stillwell To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL][Possible Malware Fraud]AHO work session comments Date:Friday, August 16, 2024 4:42:12 PM 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. WARNING: Your email security system has determined the message below may be apotential threat. It may trick victims into clicking a link and downloading malware. Do not open suspiciouslinks. If you do not know the sender or cannot verify the integrity of the message, please do notrespond or click on links in the message. Depending on the security settings, clickable URLs may have been modified to provide additional security. Dear Bozeman City Commissioners: My letter concerns the work session on Tuesday, August 20, to discuss the Affordable Housing Ordinance. Commissioners should remove the deep incentives from the AHO immediately, entirely, and permanently. The ordinance should be reworked with community engagement during thewider UDC rewrite already on your desks. As written, the ordinance leaves core neighborhoods vulnerable to developers and theirinvestors, such as HomeBase Partners and Arel Capital (the group behind the 811 W Mendenhall project). The Inter-Neighborhood Council’s recent survey got over 200 responses, with 92% voting for a repeal of the deep incentives. Immediate action is required to prevent further exploitation. The Gallatin County Market Snapshot just cited a 15% vacancy rate, higher than the national average, according to this ERES market snapshot report. Bozeman City Staffer David Finerecently reported a 10% vacancy rate. The discrepancy is irrelevant; what matters is the surplus in housing. There are currently over 500 units under construction, according to thatsame market snapshot. Revoking the deep incentives until the AHO can be revised will not create chaos. Its better tohalt development than permanently alter neighborhoods under legislation that has not had sufficient public input. In addition, commissioners should prioritize the preservation of “Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing” (NOAH), such as the parcels behind Lock horn Cider. A developer wants to demolish these, trading a parcel of land on N 19th Ave for two additional stories in height, another example of exploitation of the deep incentives. Bozeman growth policy states as a goal (N-3.8) to “Promote the development of "Missing Middle" housing (side by side or stacked duplex, triplex, live-work, cottage housing, groupliving, rowhouses/ townhouses, etc.) as one of the most critical components of affordable housing.” The current AHO does not provide the “missing middle.” Existing affordablehousing is the missing middle. The economic diversity of residents is what makes core neighborhoods vibrant; we have a mixof renters and owners, young and old, students and entrepreneurs, artists and engineers living side by side. The “deep incentives” work as a means to displace lower income, working class,and even middle-class residents. By promoting high density at any cost, the city is not preventing sprawl. It is decimating our neighborhoods to accommodate an affluent, often part-time population. This cannot be what commissioners intended with the AHO. Revise the AHO with community input. In the meantime, prohibit further development usingthe deep incentives, effective immediately. Christy Stillwell 402 N 5th Ave -- Christy Stillwell, author of The Wolf Tone, a novel of classical music and medical marijuana set in Montana.