The Problem
Cost of living is skyrocketing, rent continues to increase with no rent control protections, and construction continues to boom but practically all of the units being built are Luxury Units. Working people are being driven out of town because we can’t afford to live here anymore. The median home value in 2022 was $850,000!!! For working people, owning a home is out of the question and rental availability and affordability isn’t much better. Bozeman is a prime example of the effects of displacement and what happens when we rely on Private Markets & Developers to fix our housing needs.
What Has Been Tried
While the housing crisis has spiraled out of control, housing issues have been a constant in the Gallatin Valley for YEARS. Elected officials have tried to implement the same ideas for decades to combat the housing problem. Ideas such as easing zoning regulations so developers can build more units (i.e. expensive Luxury Units that rake in excessive profits), issuing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to build a minimal supply of Low Income Housing in exchange for tax breaks, Section 8 housing vouchers, etc. have all fallen short. All of these solutions are “Market Based Solutions” aimed to incentivize Private Development to solve our problems. But when we look to the market and private developers to provide the housing we need, housing is intrinsically tied to profits and viewed as a commodity – not a right. The reality is that when housing is tied to profits, it is more profitable to maintain scarcity.
The Free Market has had their chance. The private sector has had 50+ years to address and find solutions to the housing crisis and it has failed. It’s time to stop subsidizing private developers and start subsidizing the people.
Our Solution: Social Housing!
We need a permanent solution. We need a supply of affordable, rent stabilized, community-run units. Social Housing is a sustainable model of publicly owned and publicly developed mixed-income housing that would remain permanently affordable. With Social Housing, we can establish Bozeman as a city where HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT. When housing is developed as a public good – not a commodity – the profit motive is removed and the focus is on meeting the needs of our community.
We can see the danger of tying housing to profits each time we enter a recession. In a recession, new housing development stagnates because it is no longer profitable to private developers. But is there any less need for us to be housed? With Social Housing, affordable housing is created because there is still a need for housing, not because of a need for profits.
With Social Housing, we can have local control of development to meet the needs of our community in Bozeman – including deciding the cost of rent, developing in a way that meets crucial sustainability standards, and creating communities welcoming to workers, students, families, and pets.
Why Social Housing
- Housing is a human right.
- Without the need for profits, housing can remain truly affordable.
- Affordable housing will give working people the dignity of being able to live in the place they work and build for a future. If people are able to stay in Bozeman, it will foster a stronger sense of community.
- Housing is for ALL – not just the rich who can afford a home (or 2 or 3) or the poorest trapped by the Benefits Cliff.
- Increases Local Autonomy
- Housing that is controlled by the city allows for more local control to get around restrictive state laws. For example, we can decide how many affordable units we need, even if State officials prohibit affordable unit mandates for private developers (also known as inclusionary zoning).
- Montana does not allow rent control, but the public can set the rents of our public developments.
- We can build the housing we need, instead of hoping that private developers will consider it for a tax cut.
- Environmental
- Opportunities for increased city planning to develop smart density. This could mean designing for walkability, access to public transportation, and connecting to existing public city water/sewage infrastructure.
- New developments can align with our climate plans and sustainability standards.
- Economic Feasibility
- Creates a revenue stream for the city to pay for the project and future projects. The city is restricted to very few revenue streams such as property taxes, impact fees, and parking tickets. A new revenue stream could actually decrease these methods providing relief to homeowners and citizens alike.
- Access to land and federal funding. Municipalities have access to low interest loans/bonds as well as connections to many stakeholders with developable land (for example, the School Board, Bozeman Deaconess, etc.).
- The project will could create union jobs for construction and maintenance.
Is It Doable?
Many communities in Montana already have public housing.
Anaconda – 170 Units. Great Falls – 490 Units. Helena – 366 Units. Billings – 216 Units. Whitefish – 50 Units. Glascow – 60 Units.
BOZEMAN HAS 0 UNITS.
Building our own supply of housing is feasible and doable! When public housing first started across the U.S. in the 1930s, it was robust and for everyone. When private developers realized that available and affordable housing cut into their profits, lobbyists pressured the federal government to slash investment in public housing and it became increasingly means-tested to serve only the lowest income people (aka those who are not profitable for the real estate market to serve). With Reagan, there was an increasing push to privatize public housing through Section 8 vouchers and tax credits, and with Clinton, funding was closed to many to build new public housing.
However, with the idea of mixed-income Social Housing, rents can be set at 30% of all residents’ incomes. Those with less will pay less, while those with more will pay more to help subsidize some of their neighbors, but still paying in a range affordable for their budget. All the rent would go to covering the costs of the public development, rather than in the pockets of a private developer looking for profits. The concept of public housing available to all was intentionally crushed because it threatened the profits of private developers. It is time to intentionally challenge the market again by creating housing that is not a commodity.
But does Bozeman have the money to develop its own housing? Yes! For example, Bozeman just built a new $40 million Law and Justice Center. The old fire station on Rouse and Mendenhall was a City-owned, public building that was recently sold to private developers (2 of which are on the Community Development Board). It was sold for $2.9 million, but $1.6 million of which was subsidized by the city to turn it into “affordable housing.” The city could’ve used that $1.6 million to convert that public property into public housing instead, which would be sustained by the rent. These opportunities exist, and we just have to take that step.
Mr. & Mrs. Free Market has had their chance. Section 8 housing vouchers have not provided a solution. LIHTC has not provided a solution. The private sector has had 50+ years to address and find solutions to the housing crisis and it has failed. With the scale of the housing crisis, we need bigger and bolder solutions that put the community of Bozeman before profits. We need a permanent solution. We need a supply of actually affordable, rent stabilized units. WE NEED SOCIAL HOUSING!
Bozeman DSA 