A housing advocacy group in Bozeman is asking the city to ban some types of short-term vacation rentals like Airbnbs in order to free up more living spaces for local renters.
About 50 people gathered in front of Bozeman’s City Hall on Wednesday evening at what organizers Bozeman Tenant’s United called a “displacement vigil.”
Spokesperson Kyle Collins told YPR that the group is urging the city commission to ban short term rentals that aren’t owner occupied including accessory dwelling units, and to use funding from the city’s community housing fund to subsidize homeowners to rent these units to locals.
“The people who make the food for the tourists that do come here, the people who work at the hospital to treat the people who are ill, the firefighters that fight the fires, the housekeepers that clean hotel rooms,” he said.
Attendees placed dozens of flowers on an altar in between spray painted boxes that read: “End Airbnb Greed” and “No More Displacement.”
Pastor Laura Folkwein asked them to remember people who have had to leave Bozeman because of a lack of affordable options, and to think about their own experiences with housing.
“We’re here to acknowledge the incredible strain on personal relationships that housing stress causes. We are here to mourn the isolation, shame, stigma and silence that surround lack of housing and dangerous living situations and homelessness,” she said.
According to the city of Bozeman’s spokesperson, an audit in July from a consultant found there are 268 registered short term rentals and an estimated 305 that do not have permits.
Bozeman currently does not allow type 3, non-owner occupied short term rentals in residential districts, but type 2 which includes ADUs are allowed in some parts of the city.
On Tuesday the city commission is having a work session to discuss potential future changes to short term rental policies.
