Page 31 - Flathead Beacon // 10.5.16

CLOSING RANGE DAVE SKINNER
GUEST COLUMN FRED ZAVODNY
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF VRBOS VON NEIGHBORHOODS
ACATION RENTALS BY OWN- would be permitted in any given block ers (VRBOs) are short-term or neighborhood? Given the fact Kalis- vacation rentals. Short-term pell is located in a prime tourism area,
PAST, PRESENT, LFUTURE PART 5
AST TIME IN THIS SERIES ON Montana’s forestry sector, I left you with the matter of Weyerhae-
user’s exit strategy.
Since the turn of the 21st century,
Plum Creek’s long-term Montana trend was one of consistent downsizing: Fewer mills, fewer employees, and less land – in Montana. With the Weyerhaeuser takeover, that pattern remains. Just in 2016, many sta at the Columbia Falls “Cedar Palace” have been laid o or taken transfers as a direct result of merger e - ciencies, while the Columbia Falls lum- ber and plywood operations ended in August, with some production shifted to Evergreen.
So, kids, it sure looks like Weyerhae- user will depart Montana in the foresee- able future. Who might buy, and, most important, at what price?
First, the pool of potential future owners is pretty limited: Private buyers, either corporations or wealthy individ- uals; or government agencies (federal, state, and county).
As for private buyers, keep foremost in mind that any private entity with the cash or credit rating to buy hundreds of thousands of acres, or mere thousands, will be based outside Montana.
What might a wealthy individual pur- chaser do? Use your imagination – what would you do? Lock it up, of course.
What about business buyers, which, given industry and tax realities, would almost certainly be either Real Estate Investment Trusts or Timberland Investment Management Organizations (REITs and TIMOs)? They’ll come only at a bargain price, or at least a price ratio- nally based on net present value (NPV) – the shareholders would make certain of that. And, if they do, it’s almost a sure thing they will either block o public rec- reational access, or charge heavily for it.
One Weyerhaeuser example: In the Longview, Washington area, a motor- ized permit for 381,000 acres with 818 permits available was $300. Non-mo- torized permits were $50 with 273 still on sale. Even better, walkers can’t bum a ride from someone with a vehicular per- mit. Ever. If you’re caught, you’re busted and banned. Is that Montana’s future?
What about government purchase?
Adding to the federal national for- est estate has already proven foolish. Remember the $250 million that bought some of the Montana Legacy Project for
the Forest Service in the Swan? Because these lands, 120 years a private working forest, were now federal, four usual-sus- pect Green groups sued. Then Judge Donald Molloy ruled last February that no more trees could be cut without the entire federal environmental alphabet soup of analysis paralysis. Wow, wasn’t that money well spent?
What about the state of Montana and interested counties as possible govern- ment owners?
Well, as far as the state is concerned, I dare anyone to deny that Montana’s trust lands forestry operations are the best balanced on the ground, thanks to a long-term sustained-yield mandate writ- ten by Montanans.
What about counties? This is possi- ble, too, with tribal forest management programs on Northwest reservations being a great example. Tribal members enjoy excellent recreational and cul- tural access to reservation forests, while management actions happen in a frame- work of being culturally sensitive, yet coldly rational. As a Colville tribal for- ester bluntly put it to me: “We can’t print money, we have to earn money.” Could counties do that? Sure.
Might either or both work? Yep, and better than the alternatives.
One positive change: Management on state and/or county-owned lands would be set by Montana o cials elected by, and accountable to, Montanans. That can- not and never will be said for corporate boards or Congress.
Another: Because states and counties can’t print money, management actions would have to be scally rational, if not purely pro t-driven – a happy medium between two extremes.
Third, any increase in Montana owned and operated forests, managed for sus- tained yield, would help stabilize the out- look for Montana’s forestry sector. With- out experienced foresters, loggers and millers, it won’t matter what Montanans really want from our forests that cover a full third of our state.
So if and when Weyerhaeuser pulls the pin, Montana must be ready to buy as much of Weyerhaeuser industrial forest as possible, at a price that re ects what that land is worth as, yep, working forest. Montana must get this singular oppor- tunity right, or Montana will regret the consequences forever.
vacation rentals are de ned as occu- pancy of 30 days or less. They are pri- marily focused on alternate lodging for travelers and tourists on vacation. In most cases they are fully furnished and equipped private residences.
VRBOs are currently permitted in most business zones within the City of Kalispell. They are not permitted in any residential zones. Slowly but surely, Kalispell is experiencing VRBO creep into residential areas. In other words, illegal businesses are currently operat- ing in residential areas of the city. Unfor- tunately, instead of shutting the illegal VRBOs down and keeping residential neighborhoods intact, the city is mov- ing forward with a plan to legalize them in all residential areas of the city. If this plan takes e ect, there will no longer be any purely residential areas left in the city! This is unacceptable.
The illegal business intrusion into residential areas is problematic for resi- dents for the following reasons.
Neighborhood Stability: VRBOs can impact the stability of established residential neighborhoods. By their nature they introduce an unknown transient component that can quickly upset neighborhood stability. With a VRBO in your neighborhood, it is likely you will have di erent neighbors every couple of days. You will never know who your neighbors are. Is this what we want our community to become?
Property Values: VRBOs can have a negative impact on property values. A VRBO adjacent to a residential home for sale can certainly have a negative e ect on prospective buyers looking to establish themselves in a residential neighborhood.
Additionally, how many VRBOs
it is certainly possible VRBOs could become so popular that they could easily outnumber permanent residences in any given block or neighborhood. This is det- rimental to everyone in Kalispell who has invested their hard earned money to purchase a house with the understand- ing they were investing long-term in a residential neighborhood.
At the City Council workshop held on Sept. 12, 2016, the following items con- cerning VRBO’s were discussed.
Covenants: Neighborhoods with existing covenants could change them to exclude VRBOs. This may sound rea- sonable at rst blush, but it reality it would involve a monumental undertak- ing that would be remarkably unfair to everyone that invested in the residential neighborhood. It certainly sounds like the city is trying to pass the buck on the covenant issue. Neighborhoods without covenants most likely have no recourse whatsoever.
Self-Regulation: The VRBO commu- nity would be self-regulating. I believe we have seen enough recent self-regulat- ing failures to know that this should not even be an option.
As city-wide VRBOs will impact every residential property in the city, I encourage the city to include a copy of any proposed action concerning VRBOs in residential zones to be included with the appropriate water billings, or other o cial mailing, well prior to acting on it. This will allow the residents that will be impacted by VRBOs the opportunity to voice their concerns. Everyone with a concern should contact city o cials and the planning department and pro- vide your input to them. The residential structure of the community may well depend on it.
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
“SLOWLY BUT SURELY, KALISPELL IS EXPERIENCING VRBO CREEP INTO RESIDENTIAL AREAS. IN OTHER WORDS, ILLEGAL BUSINESSES
ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS OF THE CITY.”
Fred Zavodny lives in Kalispell.
OCTOBER 5, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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