HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-25 Public Comment - M. Nelson - Public Comment-UDC rewriteFrom:Molly Nelson
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment-UDC rewrite
Date:Tuesday, June 24, 2025 9:11:41 AM
Attachments:UDC Public Comment 6.24.25.pdf
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To Whom It May Concern,
I have attached my public comment. I look forward to the discussion tonight.
Thank you so much, Molly
My name is Molly Nelson and I am a renter near Gallatin High School. I have lived in
Bozeman off and on for the last decade. I am a social worker, who provides mental
health therapy at a local practice. I currently live with my partner and a roommate. We
are all professionals in our early careers, with renting being our only option of living at
the moment, though we all dream of being homeowners one day.
Bozeman’s current housing policies affect my daily life by making me wonder about the
reality of owning a home, despite working full time, and holding degrees of higher
education. Many of my friends and family have left town due to affordability issues. I
live in a fourplex, which has made it possible for me to continue to enjoy the access to
the outdoors and serve this community.
If someone, with my privileges in social positionalities is experiencing the inaccessibility
and financial constraints associated with the cost of living in Bozeman, I can only
imagine how folks with marginalized social positionalities are feeling. Pro-housing UDC
reforms would improve my situation by creating more infrastructure of diverse housing,
thus improving the accessibility of all housing types on the market.
When I think about owning a home in Bozeman, my neighborhood is the dream I
envision. I love all of the trails nearby, which make it easy to go for a run or a bike ride
to decompress from the day. There are also a lot of dog parks, fishing and swimming
ponds, and access to nature. One of my favorite things to do is bring a book to one of
the parks so I can listen and watch the birds sit on the cattails while I read, and just
immerse myself in nature.
The challenge with my neighborhood is the limited amenities that are often the social
hubs for building and maintaining community, such as coffee shops, bars, restaurants,
bookstores, or event venues. It has been more challenging for me to feel a part of my
neighborhood community, compared to the other places I have lived around town for
this reason. I would like to see policy support both affordability and community, rather
than needing to choose between the two.
On a broader scale these changes would secure stable, affordable, and accessible
housing for people with a broad range of financial means. Without making these crucial
changes I worry about losing valued community members of diverse careers and
incomes. I worry about losing teachers, first responders, tradespeople, apprentices,
college students, wait staff, store clerks, retail workers, hospitality workers, outdoor
guides, ski and snowboard instructors, and any other career I might have missed. I
strongly urge you to revise the UDC to support a diverse range of living options for all of
our Bozeman community.