Gallatin County earns C+ for affordable housing

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

Gallatin County received a C-plus for affordable housing in the 2008 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card released this week.

The report found that a Gallatin County resident earning the median income for a renter ($25,767) can afford the county’s fair market rent price with $93 to spare.

That fair market price, according to the study, is $773, and falls within the 30-percent-of-income guideline suggested as affordable by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And in Gallatin County, according to the report card, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $680.

The report also states that a Gallatin County renter would have to earn between $13.01 and $15 an hour to afford that two-bedroom apartment.

The report’s findings are in line with a similar study conducted recently by Scott Rickard, an economist at Montana State University-Billings. Rickard found that a typical two-bedroom apartment in Bozeman costs $700 a month. And the Human Resource Development Council in Bozeman, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income people, reported this year a two-bedroom apartment in Bozeman costs $650 a month.

The Bozeman City Commission, recognizing the difficulties of finding affordable housing in the city, adopted a Workforce Housing Ordinance in August. Though it could still be months before any of the homes are built, the ordinance requires developers of multi-unit projects to provide a portion of the houses at prices under $200,000.

The housing affordability grade given Gallatin County this week is part of an annual look at environmental and social issues in the eight-state Rocky Mountain region. The report card determined affordability as the difference between the fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit and what a median-income renter can afford under that HUD guideline.

In the area of housing, the report called the Rockies, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, a region in transition.

“High housing appreciation rates and large population influx combine to make finding affordable housing a particular challenge in the Rockies,” the report stated. “In addition, the region receives proportionally less federal funding for affordable housing compared to other regions in the nation.”

Twenty-four Montana counties earned D or D-plus grades, including Madison and Park counties, which both received a D-plus. Only three counties in the state earned A-minus, the highest grade awarded in the state. In Montana’s largest population areas, Yellowstone County received a C-minus, Missoula County received a D and Cascade County received a C. Ten counties received a B grade. And 11 others received Cs.

Gallatin County’s grade of a C-plus was determined by comparing it to other micropolitan counties in the region. All counties in the report were sorted into one of three categories, micropolitan, metropolitan or rural before they were graded.

Across the region, Greenlee, Ariz., received the highest A grade for micropolitan counties with its affordable rental rate $604 higher than its fair market rent. Lincoln County received the lowest F grade with its affordable rental rate $144 lower than its fair market rent.

The Rockies report notes that smaller urban areas, such as Bozeman, are rapidly gentrifying, making affordable housing increasingly scarce. And the housing portion of the report concludes that public policy shaping the market in the region will be important.

“To the region’s credit, many Rockies communities are actively creating affordable housing trust funds, down payment assistance funds, and inclusionary zoning regulations, thereby displaying leadership in how to keep low-income households from getting pushed aside,” the report concludes. “But more federal, state and community support is needed to assist workers and families who can now scarcely afford to live in the Rockies.”

The complete report can be found online at http://www.coloradocollege.edu/stateoftherockies/reportcard.html.

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