HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-12-16, Parks, Cleveland, Public CommentMay 12, 2016
City of Bozeman
To Commissioners:
We live directly across the street from 304 Cleveland, on the north west corner of Cleveland and South 3rd (921 South 3rd). We received notice from Ian Woods, owner of 304
Cleveland, and from the City earlier this month, notifying us of the Public Hearing scheduled
for May 16th, and Mr. Woods application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). This permit, if
granted, will allow this presently unoccupied home, to be operated as a vacation home
(classified as "Extended Stay Lodging" in R-1 Zoning District), which would permit the
residence to be rented for less than 30 days at a time. As we understand it, he would receive a Business License to rent his home out, much like a hotel rents rooms, but without onsite management, in an R-! (Residential Single-Household, Low Density) location.
It took us this long to research what a 'CUP' for R-1 is all about. And we were particularly
surprised to understand that this type of permit can "run with the property" (recorded and
passed on to future buyers). When we bought our home 7 years ago, we might have
reconsidered if we'd known that we would be faced with a situation where the homes adjacent to us could be run as a business, and rented for 3 days, or a week at a time, all year long. We became aware that the property was not owner occupied soon after we
moved in - and the first time we saw people there we went out to introduce ourselves and
discovered they were not our new permanent neighbors but, short term renters. We've
observed several couples and families come and go in the past few years, so far without
incidence. In doing research, via 'VRBO' and similar on line sites, we've discovered over 1000 homes
that are available for short term vacation rentals in Bozeman, and in our neighborhood.
Some where the owner is in residence and some with absentee owners. We understand
this is a growing phenomena across the USA, and other countries, and many towns and
cities are beginning to realize that it's having an impact on their R-1 neighborhoods, and
have begun to address the effects this has on the family neighborhoods in R-1 with regard to property values, safety, traffic and the shortage of long term rentals available etc.
In talking with Mr. Woods' representative, Jen Patterson, we understand that it's his
intention to move back to his hometown of Bozeman, from Los Angeles, hopefully in a
couple of years. While we're not very excited about living across the street from a home
operated like a hotel, with up to 10 occupants at a time, for a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home, in an area with limited parking, as well as parking permits required for on street parking, we are not of a mind to try to deny Ian Woods the right to rent his home, but we feel strongly
that there should be conditions imposed on his 'CUP' application as follows:
1. A two year limit on this Conditional Use Permit to allow the City to prioritize and
have time to investigate the impact of Vacation Rentals in R-1 Zoning. We understand there is an ongoing study in progress regarding the Unified Development Code (UDC) and the subject
of Vacation Rentals should be part of this study.
2. This 'CUP' permit is only for Ian Woods and will not transfer with title, should he
decide to sell.
3. Consider a maximum of 8 people, hopefully they would have a maximum of 4
cars. 4. The Commission should also consider:
a. Allowing no more than 6 turnovers in a 30 day period to minimize neighborhood disruption. b. Limit parties and or celebrations by tenants, particularly outside events.
c. Management Firm agrees to maintain the exterior of the property and
make themselves available for any on site problems.
5. Perhaps consider a mechanism to cancel the permit should there be an excessive
number of police calls or complaints. Respectfully,
Judith & Stephen Parks