Sicamous council wants to hear from local Airbnb operators and other residents as the district works on a bylaw to regulate short-term rentals.
The District of Sicamous recently shared on its website information around proposed Zoning Bylaw 1000, addressing short-term rental operations in the community. It is anticipated the bylaw will be adopted by June 2022.
According to staff, the proposed bylaw will “clearly define and regulate where short-term rentals are permitted and include specific conditions to operate a short-term rental such as the requirement for licensing or occupancy limits.”
If the bylaw is adopted as currently proposed, those wishing to pursue a short-term rental where they’re not permitted will either have to rezone their property or obtain a temporary use permit. (Short-term rentals are permitted, with a valid business licence, in areas zoned commercial: C.1, C.2, C.3, C.4A and CDZ.06) The rezoning application fee would be $700, while rezoning and an official community application fee would be $1,400. The fee for a temporary use permit would be $500. There would also be a public hearing fee of $450, and a sign rental fee of $300.
Someone responsible for a short-term rental must live nearby (within an hour’s drive) so they can deal with any bylaw-enforcement matters.
At its March 9 meeting, Sicamous council received an update from staff on the bylaw, as well as a request for direction on such things as in which zones short-term rentals should be permitted.
District development services manager Scott Beeching said there are currently about 70 short-term rental operations in the community.
While council wasn’t ready to make any decisions, there was no shortage of comment.
Coun. Malcolm Makayev questioned the need for a temporary use permit, and noted there doesn’t appear to be a transition period in the bylaw for short-term rental operators in need of rezoning who might not be able to afford the related fees and licensing.
“How do we allow them to transition out of that and forecast their finances so it mitigates the impact?” asked Makayev.
Coun. Jeff Mallmes stressed the bylaw addresses people who don’t police their short-term rentals.
“We don’t have to ever go out to the Best Western, they look after it themselves,” said Mallmes. “If you want to have an Airbnb you have to look after it yourself. Don’t expect the district taxpayer to come over there and pull cars off because they’re parked in front of fire hydrants and tell them they’ve got to be quiet… This is a case of it’s been a wild west brawl and now there are going to be some rules put in place.”
With the bylaw, Mallmes said if you’re a bad operator, the neighbours are going to complain and you just won’t get a licence.
“A lot of these places…, people don’t live here, they live in Alberta, they rent over the internet and from the moment they get here to the moment they leave it’s party central,” said Mallmes.
Coun. Gord Bushell noted there needs to be a level playing field with local hotels that currently pay the Municipal Regional District Tax (MRDT).
Read more: Sicamous pursuing regulation of short-term rentals
Read more: EDITORIAL: Considering short-term rental units
Anyone operating a short-term rental in the district is required to remit both a provincial sales tax and the (MRDT) for guest stays. The MRDT applies to all accommodation sales. It is collected by the province and returned to the district, to be used on approved destination marketing, benefiting all accommodation providers.
Coun. Colleen Anderson said long-term rentals bring more economic value to the community, providing accommodation to those who live and work in the community.
“Having way too many short-term rentals gives us a housing shortage so we can’t get folks into Sicamous because there’s nowhere for them to live,” said Anderson. “We need to figure out how to monitor that and make that work for Sicamous.”
Mayor Terry Rysz recognized the need for a bylaw but was also concerned for responsible short-term rental operators.
“We need time to digest this and time for you to give us a little bit more guidance,” said Rysz.
Makayev later asked about changes to property taxes for those who have their properties rezoned to accommodate short-term rentals. District chief financial officer Kelly Bennett said she’d contacted BC Assessment and “they do not necessarily change the class of assessment based on zone, because short-term rentals change so frequently it’s really hard to manage and administer…”
Beeching welcomed input on the proposed bylaw from council, as well as the public, including from anyone who currently haves, or wants to operate, a short-term rental.
“Let us know what you’re doing, where you want to do it; anybody that has a concern with a neighbour doing it, let us know as well and in general if you have an opinion,” said Beeching.
For information or to provide feedback, email Sarah Martin at smartin@sicamous.ca.
lachlan@saobserver.net
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