Committee forms to look at vacation rentals

A committee has formed to look at and create a policy regarding vacation rentals in Hill City.

The decision to form such a committee came out of Monday’s Hill City Planning and Zoning Commission and after the Hill City Common Council approved a conditional use permit to allow for a vacation rental at its last meeting.

“Short term vacation rentals have created a good deal of controversy since the start of their existence about 10 years ago and have been growing at an incredible speed ever since,” said Dani Schade, development service coordinator. “Vacation rentals can bring a positive economic impact to our city in several ways — additional income through tax revenues and guests usually spend their money at local businesses. Additionally, it can help local residents make ends meet by renting out a portion or all of their home during high tourist demand.”

While vacation homesprovide these benefits, there are many issues Schade said vacation homes do have — mainly, tourists are using up space that otherwise would be used for living, thus creating a decrease in the housing inventory, which, Schade said, is already scarce in Hill City.

There are 41 identified vacation rentals within Hill City, Schade said, and it is important to know how short term vacation rentals are impacting the town.

“With continued growth in Airbnb style rental, ignoring the impact, whether positive or negative, is not an option any more,” Schade said.

After Schade delivered her report on where Hill City is in terms of vacation rentals, Ron Walker, chairman of the planning and zoning commission, said he would like to have Schade and a couple other people attempt to draft something on vacation rentals.

Walker, too, wants this group to look at how other municipalities are handling vacation rentals.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat on this,” Walker said, referring to the ways vacation rentals can be regulated. “It can be done with zoning, it can be done on some sort of tax incentive for offering long term rentals. There could be a number of ways to address this topic.”

Walker said he agreed with Schade that the city is at a point where something needs to be done to look into the impact of vacation rentals and what can be done to better regulate them.

Walker added he is afraid Hill City will turn into a town such as Jackson Hole, Wyo., where those who work in the town will need to commute to the town because they cannot afford to live there.

Connie Wolters, commission member, said she is surrounded by vacation rentals at her house.

“I don’t have a neighborhood anymore,” she said and volunteered to serve on the committee.

Angie Ross, commission member, also volunteered to serve on the committee, saying her views line up with Wolters’. She added that, “anyone who has had a conversation with me ever probably knows how strongly I feel about this.”

Walker said he wants the committee to create a draft, which, he said, does not need to be the final edition but would be a start.

Schade wondered if the committee should have a representative from the council.

“I don’t think it would hurt,” Walker said. “This is going to be controversial enough. I think council needs to be apprised of which way we’re going, and if there’s going to be issues with the council we don’t want to go there. We want to work cooperatively.”

Aldermen Dale Householder and Carl Doaty, who were present at Monday’s meeting, said they would work on the committee.

Doaty said both he and Householer are “adamant” about seeing something done.

Scooter Prosneski, commission member, wanted to know if the committee will be determining a future path for permitting and if there’s a direction the committee wants to go.

“There’s a chance you’ll get a lawsuit if you ban (vacation rentals) but you can put a moratorium on it,” Wolters said.

Ross brought up whether old vacation rentals could be grandfathered in.

Walker said they could, but if the committee decides to tax vacation rentals the old property tax rate would not be grandfathered in.

After more conversation on the matter, it was decided by the committee that it will start meeting on Feb. 16 at 8 a.m. for an hour. Scahde, too, requested that Betsy Brose, account clerk for the city, serve on the committee in her place.

“We will try to have it organized so we’re not just thrashing around with a blank slate,” Walker said. “We’ll see how far we can get.”