HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-29-25 Public Comment - A. Lincke - Public Comment for city commission 1-28From:Anja Lincke
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL][SENDER UNVERIFIED][SUSPECTED SPAM] Public Comment for city commission 1-28
Date:Wednesday, January 29, 2025 9:01:12 AM
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Good evening commissioners and staff,
My name is Anja, and tonight I speak to you representing Forward Montana in
support of the updated Affordable Housing Ordinance.
I am here because Bozeman is in the midst of a housing crisis.
Young people and working-class people that live here are hanging on by a thread of
impossibly long hours, dwindling savings, and loans just to pay rent. Every day, we
lose more and more of our neighbors because it is simply unattainable to live here.
These are our farmers, educators, artists, grocers, employees of main street
businesses, and health care workers who make our town run.
Let me remind you of the magnitude of the crisis: The median home prices are
between 700 and 800 thousand dollars (Bozemanrealestate.group) and “As of
January 2025, the average rent in Bozeman, MT is $1,957 per month. This is 26%
higher than the national average rent price, making Bozeman one of the most
expensive cities in the US” (https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-
trends/bozeman-mt/). If you work 40 hours a week, every week of the year, you have
to make 42 dollars an hour (or 87 thousand dollars/year) after taxes to be able to
afford the AVERAGE rent. This is disastrous and absolutely untenable.
The solutions you have access to are limited and imperfect, and while the ordinance
is young, it has created a pipeline of housing that is delivering to the community.
Don’t weaken it right as it is coming off the ground.
We young people and working people of Bozeman are watching and feeling the
decisions you are making. Not all of us can show up at city meetings to give voice to
the people who work day and night just to be able to afford to live here. Because FMT
engages in thousands of conversations with young people at the doors, I know that
Affordable housing is the top issue that young people identify as a policy priority. So I
stand up here, knowing that I have thousands of people with me when I say: We need
you to do everything in your power to address this crisis.
It is critical that you keep the strongest version of the Affordable Housing Ordinance
online– especially deep incentives. Don’t let us down.
Thank you for your time.
-- Anja Lincke
She/They | Housing Campaign Manager
o: (406) 542-8683c: (406) 638-1183e: anja@forwardmontana.orgw: forwardmontana.orgcreated with MySignature.io