The Big Sky Owners Association met Tuesday night at the community commons to discuss a proposed cap on short-term rental permits. The meeting drew both populations — the boomers who bought condos in the nineties and the newer owners who arrive by private jet — and they sat on opposite sides of the room without assigning seats.

The proposal would limit short-term permits to fifteen percent of units in each complex. Gary Haines, a retired engineer from Minnesota who has skied Lone Mountain since 1994, spoke first. “We didn’t build this place so it could become a hotel zone,” he said. “My grandkids can’t even get a weekend place anymore.”

Across the aisle, Chad Whitmore, who manages a portfolio of eighteen units for investors from Austin, took the microphone. He wore a vest that cost more than Haines’s first lift ticket. “The data shows STRs support the tax base that funds your roads and fire department,” Whitmore said. “Restricting supply only drives up rates for everyone.”

Marta Aguilar, who cleans three of Whitmore’s units and lives in Belgrade, sat in the back. She did not speak. The association bylaws require property ownership for comment privileges.

The board tabled the vote until November. In the parking lot afterward, Haines and Whitmore stood beside their respective vehicles — a 2003 Subaru Outback and a new Range Rover — and agreed the other person didn’t understand Big Sky. Both meant it as a compliment.

The next meeting will include a presentation from a consultant hired to define “community character.” The consultant is from Jackson Hole.