Bonner County Daily Bee

Bonner County Daily Bee

P&Z approves partial vacational rental ban

Posted: Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004 - 08:29:06 am PST
By R.J. COHN
Staff writer

SANDPOINT -- After months of often contentious meetings, the Sandpoint Planning Commission voted to ban vacation rental homes in Residence "A" zones Tuesday.

The 4-2 recommendation puts the wheels in motion for an ordinance that recommends amending the City Code to regulate tourist homes.

The recommendation now heads to the Sandpoint City Council.

lf adopted, the proposed amendments would permit vacation rentals in Residence "B" and "C," Professional Office, Rural Residential 1 and 2 zones only as a conditional use.

Those currently operating tourist homes would be granted a "sunset clause" for a five-year period if the ordinance is adopted. After that, they would be subject to conditions of the zone they are located in and would have to stop renting on a short-term basis. Long-term rentals of more than 30 days would be considered a permitted use.

"There is still no evidence that this (vacation rentals) is even a problem, and here we are spending an inordinate amount of time on this," said commissioner John O'Hara, who opposed the recommendation. "I think the issue isn't as clearly defined as both sides feel."

Batted around and publicly debated since May, vacation rentals became a hotly divisive and contentious issue after it was shunted to the planning commission in mid-September. The city's Administrative Committee had previously recommended the council forward the matter to the commission instead of regulating the rentals and creating a tourist zone.

Defended and opposed by residents who saw vacation rentals as either a growing threat to the character of residential neighborhoods or an extension of personal property rights, both sides once again took issue at last night's public hearing.

"Sandpoint is an emerging resort town," Brad Golphenee told the commission. "I think the proposed ordinance is going to be tricky and costly to enforce. Vacation rentals do serve a niche in the community, and they provide a necessary mix. If you licensed them, they could be perhaps limited to certain zones. It also gives you a lot of creative way to manage them."

Many argued that tourist homes not only upset neighborhood integrity and violate existing laws, but investors snapping up houses for short-term rentals have caused housing costs for existing residents to rise as well.

"Long-term residents deserve their neighborhoods in tact," said Michael Bogues, who took a survey of residents on Euclid Street in June he claimed were overwhelmingly opposed to commercial tourist homes in that area.

Others, however, claimed it threatened private-property rights and that the business it brings resort city tax money to Sandpoint coffers. Some wanted to have the "security blanket" of having the option or right to rent out their residences if they faced financial difficulties in the future.

"Why does this board believe there is a problem with vacation rentals in the city of Sandpoint?" asked Dan Tonnemacher, who opposed regulation for tourist homes. "I can't believe we're here still debating this. Or why the Sandpoint Planning Commission has come up with being concerned with this issue."