A letter from the Sandy Hook Community Association triggered questions from Sechelt council members about whether it’s worth addressing the short-term rental bylaw sooner than later, and separately from an upcoming broader review of its zoning bylaw.
“How do we deal with short-term rentals? Do we leave the short-term rental conversation until we are actually doing the zoning bylaw or is that something that should be addressed sooner?” asked Mayor Darnelda Siegers after receiving the letter at the Sept. 2 regular council meeting.
Director of planning Andrew Allen said extracting the bylaw could bump the other zoning bylaw considerations back but also acknowledged it’s a priority.
Coun. Matt McLean acknowledged the topic is “controversial” and that including a review of the short-term rental regulation as part of the larger zoning bylaw review could both distract from and delay that process.
Coun. Alton Toth said he agreed “wholeheartedly” with McLean. He also asked if the short-term rental regulations could be addressed through the district’s business licencing and regulations bylaw rather than try to “stuff it into the zoning bylaw.”
Allen said a business licence or separate bylaw could “dive a little bit deeper” into the regulatory and enforcement components.
Siegers said she also agreed with McLean and asked staff to come up with suggestions for next steps.
Changes to regulations governing short-term rentals were also discussed at a Sept. 1 Advisory Planning Commission meeting, where Allen presented topics for review as the district begins looking at replacing a bylaw adopted in 1987 with Zoning Bylaw 580.
Allen and councillors who attended said views expressed about potential changes to short-term rental regulations varied widely.
Approximately a dozen letters have been sent to the district recently regarding short-term rentals, and complaints about short-term rentals in Sechelt have also been showing up in the letters section of Coast Reporter.
The letter from the Sandy Hook Community Association said the residents of Sandy Hook “have noticed a large increase in Short Term Rentals (STR) in our community over the last few years. Some of these are owned by folks who live elsewhere (such as Vancouver) and operate these like small hotels with no oversight.”
Association president Bruce Woodburn asked the district to “consider a bylaw (or change to bylaws) similar to what Gibson’s is considering at this time,” including merging bed and breakfasts with short-term rentals, requiring on-site operators, increasing fines and enhancing business licence requirements.
In its written reply to Woodburn, the district said it is reviewing “its bylaws and policies on short term rentals, along with other changes to the Zoning Bylaw,” and a staff report is expected “this fall.”
Currently, short-term rentals require specific business licences and operators must provide a local contact to any residence within 100 metres.
Both the Town of Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast Regional District are considering third reading of their proposed short-term rental bylaws, both of which require on-site operators. The SCRD has increased its fines but does not require business licences. The Town does.
