Confronting Bozeman Montana's affordable housing shortage
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(Big Sky Connection) An advocacy group in Bozeman, Montana, is calling on young people and low-income renters to take on the city's notorious housing crunch.
More than half of the people who live in Bozeman are renters. The latest Community Housing Needs Assessment showed Bozeman needs up to 6,300 housing units in the next 5 years just to keep up with job growth.
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Jacqueline Aaron, voter engagement and housing organizer for the advocacy group Forward Montana, said people who can least afford it are paying more than 50 percent of their income on rent and even then, not living where they want to.
"The units are being built out on the edges of town, sprawling into our agricultural land, getting pushed outside of the community," Aaron pointed out. "I think a lot of people who really thrive in our urban center and want to be participating in the parts of community life that they value here."
Aaron argued Bozeman's development codes should reflect the desire for people to be able to live closer to town and said it was a common theme at a recent hearing. Officials will hold a work session Sept. 17 to discuss ways to address the housing shortage within the bounds of Bozeman's existing and future ordinances.
Forward Montana said 60 percent of the housing units in Bozeman should be priced below market value to meet the full range of community housing needs. Aaron emphasized Bozeman's more established residents have had a large hand in shaping the town's housing ordinances, and she is encouraging young people to make their voices heard as the Bozeman City Commission considers what is next for the Affordable Housing Ordinance.
"We're missing out on this over 55 percent of people who are renting, and a good chunk of those are these young people that are affected," Aaron stressed.
Bozeman officials voiced support during a recent hearing for adding more than 1,600 affordable housing units in town, and there are more on the horizon. Communities now use incentives to encourage developers to build affordable housing.
