HomeMy WebLinkAbout031625 email - TESTIMONY Part 2 regarding proposed Short-Term rental ordinanceALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them.
Commissioners,
Please accept the following as additional testimony regarding the proposed Short-Term Rental (STR) ordinance to be considered on March 17, 2025.
Summary of my prior testimony:
ZIP code – to be corrected throughout
“qualified representative” is not defined
“landowner” – consistency, please
No grandfathering of any sort. The approximately 80 existing STR permit holders must apply for new permits and pay fees within 90 days of the effective date of the ordinance.
Additional testimony regarding proposed Short-Term rental ordinance
The STR program will operate as an enterprise fund, as part of DCD.
There are approx. 16,000 housing units in Jefferson County.
4% = 640 units
If spread out during a year, 640 units would amount to 54 permits per month to be issued/renewed/verified, or about 2.7 permits per business day. That seems like a reasonable workload
for one full-time staff member, while acknowledging that extra staff might be needed at startup.
Residence requirements:
The intent of the STR program is not to allow non-residents to use Jefferson County as a rental facility. It is, instead, intended to (1) allow Jefferson County residents to provide
some much-needed extra income and (2) ease the shortage of available housing by ensuring that residential house is used for that purpose.
Non-residents and platforms must not be allowed to take over the already scarce housing for purely commercial purposes.
In other words, NO ABSENTEE owners or operators.
The proposed ordinance in 18.20.210 (3) strikes:
e) The landowner or lessee may rent the principal residence or the guest house on a short-term basis, but not both.
f) Where there are is both a principal residence and a guest house (i.e., an accessory dwelling unit), the landowner or lessee must reside on the premises.
The above clauses should be retained, not stricken, and should also be amended as marked.
Removing “or lessee” ensures that property owners themselves will be fully cognizant of the manner in which their property is being used at all times and can, therefore, be held responsible
for full compliance with all STR and health and safety requirements.
Equitable distribution of permits:
In 18.20.210 (3) (h), the term “zone” is undefined. If this is intended to be a reference to the word “zone”, as used in “ZIP code”, the word “zone” should be replaced with “ZIP code”
for clarity and consistency.
Also, consider why it should be necessary for the BoCC to calculate or set the number of allowable STR permits – this seems like a decision that could have political motivations.
Why not always using the latest numbers from OFM, which are updated after each decennial census?
Simplified, 18.20.210(3)(h) should read:
(h) The maximum number of short-term rentals in each ZIP code shall not exceed 4% of the total number of housing units as published by the Office of Financial Management following each
decennial census.
Fees:
A permit fee schedule must be adopted by DCD immediately: Recommend following the Chelan model <https://www.cityofchelan.us/251/Short-Term-Rental-Licensehttps:/www.cityofchelan.us/251/Short-Term-Rent
al-License> :
* First-time application fee of $500 * 640 = $320,000, which is enough to cover DCD ramp-up costs and additional permit processing staff
* Plus, annual fee of $250 * 640 = $160,000, which is enough to pay for 2 full-time enforcement staff. (i.e., first year would total fee = $750)
* Reapplication for lapsed permit (i.e., annual fee not paid on time, no grace period) to be treated as new first-time application
Penalties:
Amend JCC 19.30.010 as follows:
JCC 19.30.010 Monetary penalties.
Violation Category: Short-term rental JCC 18.20.210(3)
First Violation: $250.00
Each Subsequent Violation with a one-year period: $500.00
Third Violation within any three-year period: Revocation of permit AND $1,000.00
Enforcement:
In JCC 18.20.210(8), add:
As an exception to “JCC19.30.015 Monetary penalties additions and subtractions”, penalties for violations of this chapter shall be mandatory and shall not be reduced or waived.
WHEREAS:
The WHEREAS clauses should be amended to list the implementation requirements that will be the responsibility of DCD. Within 30 days of the effective date of the ordinance, DCD must
furnish the BoCC with a work plan for implementation; full implementation must be completed within 90 days.
Also add to WHEREAS:
DCD shall actively enforce the provisions of this chapter and not rely solely on complaints received from the public before initiating enforcement actions.
Thank you for considering my testimony,
Tom Thiersch
Jefferson County
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