HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-28-25 Public Comment - D. Carty - Public Comment to City Commission for Jan 28, 2025_ Affordable Housing OrdinanceFrom:Daniel Carty
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment to City Commission for Jan 28, 2025: Affordable Housing Ordinance
Date:Monday, January 27, 2025 8:33:32 AM
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(Please place the following public comment in the Affordable Housing Ordinance folder. Thankyou.)
Jan 27, 8:25 a.m.
To: Bozeman City CommissionSubject: Jan 28 City Commission meeting: Action Item J.1: Proposed new Affordable Housing
Ordinance
I am writing to comment on the City's proposed new Affordable Housing Ordinance (Ordinance2025-###, Application No. 24529):
During the Strong Towns (ST) webinar on Wed, Jan 22,1 Bozeman residents were reminded—
once again—that many 4-,5-, and 6-over-1, box-style, sidewalk-to-sidewalk development projectsbeing built nationwide are simply financial products designed to do one thing: maximize profits for
private-sector, national-international real estate investment companies. Also, during the ST
webinar, Bozeman residents were reminded that such financial products are completely
disconnected from the well-being of the communities in which they are being built—and usually
prove to be detrimental to those communities.
In Bozeman, the City has allowed and continues to allow 4- and 5-over-1, box-style, sidewalk-to-sidewalk financial products to be sledgehammered into the downtown core's residential
neighborhoods (NCOD). Within the NCOD, examples (not exhaustive) are Black & Olive, North
Central, North 3rd Apts, 7th and Aspen, Bozeman Yards, The Guthrie 2, and the Block B
(proposed at 6-over-1). The result is that these financial products—whether they include"affordable" dwelling units or not—are degrading Bozeman's historical character and sense of
place, degrading Bozeman's natural environment, creating more heat islands, and compromisingBozeman's long-term climate resilience.
The City's proposed new Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO), if adopted as written, will do
nothing but accelerate the pace at which 4-, 5-, and 6-over-1, box-style, sidewalk-to-sidewalk
financial products are sledgehammered into the NCOD. The City—and especially the City'sEconomic Development Dept.—seems to think that economics is the be-all-and-end-all of land-use
decision-making. However, as Aldo Leopold wrote in the introduction to A Sand County
Almanac (1949): "Our bigger-and-better society is now like a hypochondriac, so obsessed with its
own economic health as to have lost the capacity to remain healthy."
So, how many times must the Commission hear from Bozeman residents that the ongoing
destruction of the NCOD's family-friendly neighborhoods must stop? And, how many times will the
Commission turn its head before the NCOD's family-friendly neighborhoods are forever gone? Is
the answer only blowin' in the wind? No, because the answer is fairly straightforward: First, restrictthe proposed new AHO to new greenfield development, where it can be used judiciously. Second,
adopt an Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AHOZ) within the NCOD, which would permit buildingneighborhood-friendly affordable housing and encourage keeping Naturally Occurring Affordable
Housing (NOAH). Third, amend UDC Sec. 38.410.130. - Water Adequacy, Subsection D. to (a)eliminate payments for offsite water efficiency and conservation measures and (b) only allow
developers to pay to cash-in-lieu of water rights if they agree to provide 25% to 33% affordableunits in every residential development at 60% AMI for rent and 100% to 120% AMI for sale,
restricted by deed for as long as MT law allows.
Daniel Carty
213 N. 3rd Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
dgc12@hotmail.com
1 Strong Towns webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/Q4tY3kIXiilLiCeCRlBCwoq204Rw7mPJNhGWyF_Ple-
lpPoR6z74m1qFCAlGRse1txmmJlmu8jiGFJtc.XQvMSLthv44OwRaM?
canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus02web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2Fhjj9REl6XDd-
s33kBA9GF07xJcZuu3trDxrR9EqzwHSt4BqdCZCl5hU4WE3CFlrP.8YsC3Lhmc0TQ48Sr