The Flathead County Commission delayed its decision on creating a new set of regulations for short-term rentals in zoned areas, after the commission wanted a little more time to look at the language in the proposal.
The Northwest Montana Association of Realtors came to the county with a proposed text amendment to the Flathead County Zoning Regulations that would allow for rental stays shorter than 30 days in a residence. Currently, the regulations only allow property owners to rent out their homes for stints of 30 days or longer.
With the idea of vacation rentals catching fire, especially on apps like Airbnb and VRBO, Kalispell, Columbia Falls, and Whitefish have all developed rules for these short-term rentals. In Flathead County’s zoned areas, there are an estimated 200 or more vacation rentals.
The text amendment would allow for stays shorter than 30 days in zones where single-family dwelling units are allowed. The regulations involved would include getting an administrative conditional use permit from the Flathead County Planning and Zoning Department, as well as a Public Accommodation License from the state and administered through the Flathead City-County Health Department.
The amendment includes guidelines for: maximum occupancy; staying true to homeowner associations and covenants; no signage other than address numbers; having a person or management company to contact 24 hours a day for emergencies or problems, and that contact information must be made available to adjacent and abutting property owners; and having a minimum of two, off-street parking spaces.
After the proposal received a deadlocked 4-4 vote from the Flathead County Planning Board in March, the text amendment proposal moved on to the county commission without a board recommendation on approval.
At its June 1 public hearing on the proposal, the commission heard from about a dozen valley residents who spoke in support or opposition to it. Concerns ranged from the added expense the new regulations would bring to governmental overreach.
All together, the new regulations would cost a property owner no more than $400, Mussman said, which would be a one-time fee. There would be no annual fees to pay after that.
Commissioner Pam Holmquist said the text amendment wouldn’t affect any homes or other rentals in unzoned areas of the county. Otherwise, the people short-term renting in zoned areas aren’t allowed under the current rules, she said.
“What we’re trying to accomplish here is to make it a use that is permitted, something that we can actually do,” Holmquist said.
Commissioner Gary Krueger asked county Planning Director Mark Mussman about simply removing the language currently on the books about a residence requiring stays of 30 days or more.
Mussman said it was possible, but would require going through another series of public hearings, starting at the planning board.
“It would be a totally different proposal,” Mussman said.
There were also concerns from the public about a one-size-fits-all approach to the regulations, which Mussman said could be mitigated through the administrative approach to the conditional use permits.
However, the commission wanted to be sure about the conditional use language, Holmquist said, and voted to continue the discussion and decision to June 6.