HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-20-26 Public Comment - K. Pelling - Grandfather in STR 2B Permits in new RA zone From: Lark Pellina
To: Bozeman Public Comment
Subject: [EXTERNAL]Grandfather in STR 213 Permits in new RA zone
Date: Monday,April 20,2026 10:51:49 AM
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I am writing as a Bozeman resident living in the new RA Zone with an existing STR2 permit
to urge the commissioners to grandfather in existing STR 2 Permits in the new RA zone.
To revoke existing STR 2 permits that are current and valid would create a huge hardship for
those of us relying on this income and with existing reservations that stretch into the year. If
we are current on our permit and have been operating lawfully, we should be able to be
grandfathered in as those with STR 3 permits were when that type was banned. It would be
arbitrary to allow STR 3 permits to be grandfathered in and then have permits where the
Bozeman land owner actually lives on the property, not be.
I understand the desire of the commissioners to preserve the downtown area so that it is not
filled with short term visitors. I understand the commissioners desire to support affordable
housing. The blanket banning of existing STR 2 permits in the RA zone will not help either
one of these issues. It will just make downtown Bozeman even more of what it is already
becoming - full of huge fancy hotels, million plus dollar condos and wealthy homeowners who
don't need to get creative in order to afford to stay in the downtown area. People like me and
many of my friends, who have owned property in Bozeman for years and watched their
property taxes climb so high they are more than our original payments on our first mortgages,
will have to sell and move somewhere else if you continue to strip us of ways to stay here and
live here.
I rely on the income from a short term rental to be able to afford to continue living in
downtown Bozeman.
I have a very small permitted ADU on my property, feet from my back door, that I have run
personally as a permitted short term rental for years. This small structure is not suitable for a
long term tenant. It has a tiny, tiny kitchenette, no storage and is about 200 sq feet- it is
basically a guest room but detached from my home. I built it to be able to short-term rent it.
The code I built it under allowed that.I built it specifically to rent short term as an income
stream.
My only options are to use this structure as a short term rental or as a guest space. I am not
wealthy enough to afford to not rent it, yet I cannot long term rent it because it is not big
enough for someone to live in full time.
By taking this income stream from me, I will likely be forced to sell my home to someone
wealthy enough to have extra space and no need for income from it. And by taking away my
existing permit, you are not adding to affordable housing because it is not appropriate for
long-term tenants so it won't go into the rental pool. All you will have done with this policy
change is cause another middle class family in Bozeman to sell out to the wealthy who
can afford to live under these rules.
If you want a diverse and vibrant downtown,it needs to allow those of us who need to get
creative in order to still live here, the ability to do that. My short term rental in a VERY
small ADU is not detracting from the livability of my neighborhood and it is not taking away
affordable housing, it is doing the opposite - it is allowing me to be able to afford to stay and
not sell out to someone who makes a lot more money than I do. It allows a few temporary
visitors to live and experience the downtown area and support the small local businesses
around me. When I cannot clean it myself, it provides income for another Bozeman resident.
There is also a very big difference between someone who rents their entire home and leaves
and someone who rents an ADU in their backyard. If you are going to ban renewals of existing
STR 2 permits, the difference between STR 2A and STR 213 should at least be recognized and
not lumped together. STR 2B where we are on the property at the same time, especially when
the ADU is not suitable for long-term housing, should be allowed to continue - and especially
when you are changing the rules on those of us who relied on them.
Please allow existing STR 2 permits to continue by grandfathering them in or, at the very
least, allow existing STR 2B permits to continue in the new RA zones. STR 2B permits for
people who live in Bozeman are creative ways that allow average people to still live in the
downtown area. Please, please, please don't take that away.
Karrie Lark Pelling
703 E Fridley St
Bozeman, MT 59715