HomeMy WebLinkAbout031325 email - Public Hearing (0005)ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Dear County Commissioners,
I support regulating Short Term Rentals in Jefferson County, but feel Planning Commission recommendations do not go far enough. In order to limit the conversion of family homes to STRs,
discourage the purchase of second homes, reduce money flowing out of our county, and allow for an equitable rotation of permits, I support the following recommendations outlined by
HSN:
Cap the number of Short Term Rentals (STRs) to 3% of the County’s Housing Units.
Require the STR to be located on the same property as the homeowner's primary residence.
Set expiration dates on STR permits.
Use platform-based enforcements and require short term vacation rental platforms, like Airbnb, VRBO to register with the County in order to operate.
Long term rentals for regular folk who actually want to work AND live here are scarce and absurdly overpriced. I watched this same scenario unfold many decades ago in my home county,
and that was long before the advent of STRs as we now know them. I am particularly disturbed by the large number of out-of-town property owners who purchase homes here for the specific
purpose of using them as short term rentals. It takes the heart and soul out of a community when the only investment a home owner has is to make a profit. I've only been in Jefferson
county for 21 years, but already I've seen so much change that at times, I don't even recognize the special place I moved to - especially true in Port Townsend.
I realize the tourist trade is critical to the economy in our isolated community - more so here in town than out in the county - but sacrificing the ability to accommodate working members
of the community, as well as the many aging residents who did NOT move here with a huge bankroll, is not an equitable or sustainable trade off. Please support the suggestions being
posited to further control STRs in Jefferson County.
Thank you,
Kristin Mineah
Port Townsend, WA