Vacation rentals dominate meeting

SANDPOINT — Vacation rentals once again dominated the conversation at City Council on Wednesday.

"This has been quite a journey with the short-term vacation rentals and I appreciate all the work that’s been going on (in the planning department) to come up with a viable solution that is going to fit our community here in Sandpoint," said Councilwoman Shannon Williamson.

The first public hearing took place in June, shortly after House Bill 216 was signed into law. The bill goes into effect Jan. 1. The public hearing was tabled across an additional four meetings following discussions of the 300-foot buffer and other issues, including concerns by residents of Westwood Village regarding its designation as a resort community. Many of the details were worked out during those hearings and council members approved several proposed changes to the ordinance in October. But as Councilwoman Deb Ruehle pointed out at the time, the ordinance would need to be revisited many times before it was "all sussed out."

On Wednesday, the topic was, once again, related to the buffer. Aaron Qualls, planning and economic development director, said council members had four options to consider, ranging from letting the market “do what it may” in the residential neighborhoods with regards to short-term rentals, all the way to various types of limiting short-term rentals and treating them differently, depending on the type.

"Whether it is a room being rented, or maybe it’s a homeowner that’s in a homeowner-occupied house … our current ordinance treats them all the same," Qualls said. "So based on feedback from council and discussions with legal, we came back with some more refined recommendations."

Qualls said the most "defensible" options would be to either limit the number of short-term rentals by zone or by street segment.

As council members voted to remand the proposed short-term rental revisions back to the Planning and Zoning Commission, it is not the last time the topic will come before council.

"I think it’s a wise idea to send this back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for them to take another look at,” Williamson said. "As a dedicated group of volunteers with the unique set of expertise, I think they are going to help us through this process."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com or follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.