HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-11-25 Public Comment - D. Carty - Affordable Housing Ordinance_ Feb 11 Commission meeting, Action Item I.1From:Daniel Carty
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Affordable Housing Ordinance: Feb 11 Commission meeting, Action Item I.1
Date:Tuesday, February 11, 2025 10:51:37 AM
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(Please place the following public comment in the Affordable Housing Ordinance folder in
time for the Feb 11 City Commission meeting. Thank you.)
Feb 11, 2025; 10:50am
I am writing to comment on Action Item I.1: Proposed new Affordable Housing Ordinance
(AHO, Ordinance 2025-###):
(1) The UDC update (still relatively early in the process) is the umbrella under which theexisting and proposed new AHOs should exist. As such, the existing AHO should be
repealed and the proposed new AHO should be tabled until the UDC update has beencompleted. Completing the UDC update first is the most reasonable and prudent path for
the Commission to take in order to maximize neighborhood character, environmentalstewardship and sustainability, and affordable housing.
(2) City staff should explain in detail how the current AHO model was developed and
selected. For example, is the model qualitative or quantitative? If quantitative, what are themodel's statistical measures of reliability?
(3) Re the proposed new AHO itself:
(a) All Type C incentives should be deleted from the new AHO.
(b) On page 6, Sec. 38.380.020. - Applicability and Affordability Requirements. A. should
be amended to read as follows:
A. The incentives in this division take the place of and supersede the do not take the place
of or supersede applicable regulations of this chapter where a regulation of this chapter
directly addresses the same subject."
(c) On pages 11-12, re Sec. 38.380.030. - Affordable Housing Plan Required; Pre-Application Meeting. F. Preapplication Community Meeting. This section will have no
substantive legal teeth unless it is explicitly stated how the written results of such a meeting
must be used with respect to a project being approved. As written, simply holding a
preapplication meeting will be just a sop to Bozeman residents who are likely to beadversely affected by big-box financial products being sledgehammered into their
neighborhoods by national/international real estate investment companies.
(d) On page 18, Sec. 38.380.050. - Development Standards for Affordable Dwellings. A.should be amended as follows:
A. The affordable dwellings must be constructed with the same features, such as
appliances, as market-rate dwellings within the same development but the quality of the
features may vary between market rate and the affordable dwellings.
The affordable dwelling units must be of the same quality and size as the market-rate
dwelling units. In addition, the size and quality of the features of affordable dwelling unitsmust be of the same size and quality as the features of the market-rate dwelling units.
Note: Arguably, not requiring affordable units to be equal to market-rate units in all
respects is discriminatory and not worthy of the spirit and intent of the Belonging in
Bozeman - Equity and Inclusion Plan.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Daniel Carty
213 N. 3rd Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715