HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-28-25 Public Comment - G. Chamberlain - Throw out the AHO and start anewFrom:Glen Chamberlain
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Throw out the AHO and start anew
Date:Sunday, January 26, 2025 9:23:36 AM
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TO: Bozeman City Commission
RE: Affordable Housing Ordinance (AHO)
FROM: Glen Chamberlain, 1821 Bridger Drive, Bozeman
I urge you to abandon the poorly thought-out AHO and start from scratch. Amending it is like
adding second floor to a foundationless building. Perhaps the most offensive amendment is to
deny citizens any input once a project has been given administrative approval. What this
means is there is no public process in the decision-making, and you, the commissioners, can
raise your hands in the air and say, “We had nothing to do with it. That person behind the
desk over there made the decision.” It’s not fair to that city employee, and it’s not fair to
residents.
When it became apparent that citizens were very angry with the newly-imposed AHO for
many valid reasons, the City Commission did a public mea culpa: there should have been more
citizen input before it was enacted, it created a terrible lack of trust in our local government,
the commissioners learned their lesson (some by getting voted off the commission), it
wouldn’t happen again. And yet here the same broken AHO is, a sow’s ear you’re trying to
turn into a silk purse. Give it up and start over.
