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Home My WebLink About08-20-24 Public Comment - C. Reeves - AHO Public Comment 8_20_2024 (Error Corrected)From:Cassidy Reeves To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]AHO Public Comment 8/20/2024 (Error Corrected) Date:Tuesday, August 20, 2024 12:41:26 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. ope! there was an error in my previous email that I have corrected! Hello Bozeman City Commissioners, My name is Cassidy Reeves, I am a resident in Gallatin County, and I am writing in support of keeping the current Bozeman Affordable Housing Ordinance. I recently learned about Bozeman’s AHO and am excited to hear that the city has this tool in the toolbox for addressing the local housing crisis. Supporting developers to build diversified and affordable housing will also support the people who already live here, as well as new residents. I strongly believe we need more homes and when the city can incentivize new building projects to include affordable options, they should! I see this issue as a way that the city can be thoughtful and developers can be creative when building and growing our town. The AHO is one direct tool for the City to influence the intentionality of development and growth. Housing development and zoning is tricky enough, so having this tool to incentivize and work directly with developers is certainly powerful and meaningful.Taller buildings, parking, all of these zoning codes are livable compromises for cheaper, more plentiful, and more intentional housing options! Developers should know that incentives exist in order for them to be creative when planning accessible and affordable options, and residents need to see action - that there are more options for us to keep living here and contribute to our communities. I strongly believe that the city cannot grow in healthy and sustainable ways without creative and incentivized solutions. I hope the commission will consider the needs and perspectives of residents who are caught in the limbo of wanting to live here and finding it difficult to do so. It is frustrating to hear discussions of housing action be dominated by loud neigh-sayers of change who already have the luxury of stable housing. There may not be the perfect options when it comes to new growth in a changing city, but this should not discourage action entirely. In my four years living and voting on local issues in Bozeman I have struggled to find housing options. Right now, I live just beyond Bozeman’s city limits near Leverich canyon, but I hope you will consider what I have to say on this topic because I have lived inside the city and been persuaded to move outside the city due to cost. I am a young professional, out of school but not quite “settling down” and I have found it particularly difficult to find housing that meets my current needs. Like many people in my age cohort, I cannot afford the cost of housing in Bozeman and it has led me to search for housing further away from school, my work, and from the activities I enjoy in town. This is more than inconvenient, it affects the quality of my life here. Out where I live, I feel the stress of the urban sprawl and I dislike watching the fields of deer and sandhill cranes turn into cookie-cutter townhomes. I am not stoked by all of the luxury and high end development that I see happening across town that don't seem to be "for me." Yet, I am learning that change and accommodating for growth may not look the way I want it to AND it is necessary to build more high-density housing. I am asking that the City Commission lead with thoughtfulness and bold action, rather than getting caught up in the perfect options. I see the AHO as a tool that moves us in the direction of solutions and I reiterate my support of the ordinance. Thank you for listening to my perspective. Respectfully, Cassidy