By CULLAN STAACK/Montana State News

The Bozeman City Comission approved the creation of an Olive Street special improvement district of the objections of a pair of homowners.

Kellen Gamradt, a staff and project engineer with the city, says, “The purpose of this SID is to help finance a street reconstruction on East Olive and a portion of South Church Avenue… We received two written protests, representing 3.8 percent of the district, and seven letters of support.”

Gamradt explains in his hearing that the amount of the SID is $140,950, 15 percent of the overall costs of the improvements. The SID revolving fund will finance the project initially, which means a low interest rate for property owners, the elimination of the need for a bond sale, and the fund being paid back over a 20-year period with interest.

Citing an overwhelming amount of support and an insufficient number of written protests, Gamradt and the city commissioners voiced their approval of the project as a necessary infrastructure investment for the city. The motion carried unanimously. Continue reading “Despite protests, city OKs Olive Street SID” →

By EMILY SCHABACKER/Montana State News

Bozeman City Commissioners voted to extend the interim ban that prevents homeowners from renting out rooms or houses for short term stays on Feb. 6. City commissioners agreed to adopt an ordinance that allows a six-month extension to the ban in order to conduct further research on the impact of private home rentals in the community.

Originally, the ban was adopted to remove short term rentals from the three zoning districts for six months so city staff could “investigate, to start conversations with the community, research the best practice and bring the issues back to (the commission),” said Chuck Winn, assistant city manager.

In a 4-1 vote, commissioners agreed to allow a six-month extension to the ban because “this has…turned into a huge opportunity for the community to share with the city and share with each other their passion on this issue,” said Winn.

An extension of the ban would allow city staff to determine appropriate policy questions for the commissioners and put forth a more coherent presentation of the issue before any larger decisions are made, according to Winn. Continue reading “City extends vacation rental moratorium” →

By CHELSEA ANDERSON/Montana State News

The Bozeman City Commission voted last month to extend the interim zoning ordinance regarding “extended stay lodgings” for an additional six months.

The ordinance was passed last August because of residents’ complaints about noise and traffic in neighborhoods where there were a large number of property owners renting out their homes for Airbnb and VRBO purposes.

The City Commission placed the ordinance for six months to give staff time to investigate, solicit public comment, identify best practices and provide the commission with options to solve the issue.

Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn came before the commission to propose the six-month extension of the ordinance. He claimed the extra time was necessary to “determine the policy questions and to put forth a more coherent picture of the issues.” This would provide the commission with enough information to make permanent policy changes in regards to the “extended stay lodgings” in the affected zones. Continue reading “City extends ban on new vacation rentals” →