Letter: Short-term rental ordinance needs teeth
To the editor, 
Is there anyone out there that thought this would be a slam-dunk?
I attended the very long meeting Tuesday night, and listened to the concerns of the “for” and the “against” short term rentals.
I applaud those on the Short Term Rental Task Force for a superb job. They were detailed, clear and concise. But they’re not done.
Unfortunately, not all of the areas of concern were addressed in this draft of the proposed ordinance, so back it must go.
But that happens for every new rule, regulation, ordinance and law. It just takes time to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. After this ordinance is a little more refined and passed, it will be looked at year after year. When the city changes, this ordinance will change.
I live in a senior community with a Home Owners Association, Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions, and more rules and regulations than you can imagine. But I’m old. And I can tell you that peace, quiet and safety are the main concerns of myself and my neighbors. I cannot imagine living next to a revolving-door property with the coming and going of strangers. Strangers who have no vested interest in my comfort or my neighborhood. Strangers who have come to enjoy everything this area has to offer, but they often disregard their surroundings, their neighbors.
I love this town. I love that everyone I know elsewhere, comes for a visit because they love this town too. They love the charm and ambiance. But if we’re not careful, if we don’t stay on this, that can all change. It has already, and it will continue if we let it.
Let this be our lesson: This issue is before us now because the city failed to act until pressured by homeowners in residential areas being decimated by tourists in STRs.
It really isn’t about anything other than the number of STRs that have been granted a license to conduct business in a residential zone. A significant number of these homes are owned by people out of state, even out of the country, who are making a financial investment and who then hire a property management company (or not) to “watch” that investment.
All the city saw was $$$$$ from those licenses and the Transient Occupancy Tax of approximately $500k a year. Even as the numbers increased, they did not take timely and appropriate action. And now it’s out of hand. At this very moment, there is no watchdog.
We want tourism. We need tourism. But we want it controlled. We can’t have a city council that places more value on the tourists than its residents.
Refine and complete the proposed ordinance, and then, most importantly, define how this ordinance will be enforced. No rules = no consequences = chaos.
I vote today, to place a moratorium on new STR licenses until we figure this all out.
Jan Albin
