Cities consider zoning, permits

OKANOGAN – City officials in Pateros and Brewster, along with Omak, have indicated they may look at zoning related to nightly rentals of homes within their city limits with an eye on requiring permits for owners engaged in the practice.

A three-page report compiled by the Okanogan County Planning Department and submitted to the Board of Okanogan County Commissioners last month addressed the pros and cons of the increasing incidence of nightly rentals in the county and the economic effects they influence.

The report provided to The Quad by Okanogan County Watch also lists eight reasons supporting regulation of short-term rentals.

“The new trend in tourism seems to be Nightly Rentals as defined in Okanogan County Code 17A.270,” the report begins. “Homeowners have discovered that marketing their second homes and extra bedrooms as nightly rentals, can potentially earn them as much money in one week as in one month as a long-term rental and they can still use their property for personal use.”

A downside of the short-term rental is the removal of a home from long-term rental or new ownership, the report said resulting in the potential for increased costs to consumers with fewer houses available.

“Rent for a 3-bedroom home in 2018 in Okanogan County averaged around $1,048 per month with the average household income being $42,598 according to bestplaces.net,” said the report. “Nightly rental prices in Okanogan County range from $48 to $982 a night with most rentals requiring a 2-night minimum stay.”

Currently Twisp and Winthrop are the only two cities in the county that regulate nightly rentals. The report said that compiling reliable data on Okanogan County nightly rentals is difficult, citing no transparency requirements of websites like AirBnB that arrange booking and payment details. On the other hand, “websites like AirBnBHell.com are full of statements from consumers tating that there is no one to contact for complaints or to rectify situations. Even simple questions go unanswered,” the report said.

Department of Revenue figures show that more than $50,000 in hotel/motel taxes were collected from nightly rentals in 2017.

“This tax goes into the LTAC (Lodging Tax Advisory Committee) fund that is used to bring more tourism to the county by advertising and making improvements to infrastructure,” the report said.

The report said that the website, HostCompliance.com lists eight reasons to regulate short-term rentals:
 1. Increased tourist traffic from short-term renters has the potential to slowly transform peaceful residential communities into "communities of transients" where people are less interested in investing in one another's lives, be it in the form of informal friend group or church, school and other community-based organizations.
2. Short-term renters may not always know (or follow) local rules, resulting in public safety risks, noise issues, trash and parking problems for nearby residents.
3. So-called "party houses" i.e. homes that are continuously rented to larger groups of people with the intent to party can severely impact neighbors and drive down nearby home values.
4. Conversion of residential units into Short-term rentals can result in less availability of affordable housing options and higher rents for long-term renters in the community.
5. Local service jobs can be jeopardized as unfair competition from unregulated and untaxed short-term rentals reduces demand for local bed & breakfasts, hotels, and motels.
6. Towns often lose out on tax revenue (most often referred to as Transient Occupancy Tax/Hotel Tax/ Bed Tax or Transaction Privilege Tax) as most short-term landlords fail to remit those taxes even if it is required by law.
7. Lack of proper regulation or limited enforcement of existing ordinances may cause tension or hostility between short-term landlords and their neighbors.
8. The existence of "pseudo hotels" in residential neighborhoods (often in violation of local zoning ordinances etc.) may lead to disillusionment with local government officials who may be perceived as ineffective in protecting the interests of local tax-paying citizens.

The report said nightly rental owners who follow the rules, obtain permits, and pay taxes are frustrated by those who do not. It concluded by noting that county agencies responsible for compliance are working to gain full compliance through outreach and education with property owners.