HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-25 Public Comment - M. Nelson - Seeking review_feedbackFrom:Molly Nelson
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Seeking review/feedback
Date:Monday, June 23, 2025 12:59:49 PM
Attachments:UDC Public Comment 6.24.25.pdf
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Hey there,
I was wondering if someone would mind checking this over and sharing any feedback forrevisitions.
Thank you so much for your time!
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.
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. For
the last three years, I have been able to stay in Bozeman and continue to enjoy the
incredible outdoor activities, due to living in a fourplex. 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 houses 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.