With bylaws regulating residential guest accommodations (RGA, also known as short term rentals) in Gibsons adopted just over six months ago, Mayor Silas White asked council to look at two rule adjustments at the Feb.7 special council meeting. One will see further consideration and council opted to abandon the other.
Full home rentals timing review
A staff report on the implications of “revisiting” section 8.07(3) of Gibsons’ zoning bylaw, which states that an entire dwelling unit can only be rented out as an RGA for up to 90 consecutive days of the year was requested by council. Staff noted that as the term “consecutive” is included in the bylaw’s wording, a bylaw amendment would be required.
Council also asked that options on how to efficiently enforce day limits for full dwelling RGA use be included in the report. No date on when the matter will come back for consideration was discussed.
White said he brought the issue forward after members of the community raised concerns about fairness. He said he was told while the prescribed timeframe may work for “snowbirds” who leave the community for a block of time, it does not work for families or others who want to earn income by renting out their home for shorter period at multiple points throughout the year.
Building versus licensing inspections
The mayor’s second proposed change, involving RGA unit inspections required under the Town’s business licence bylaw for accessory buildings and secondary suites did not move forward. White’s suggestion was that newly constructed units be subject to full-building inspection requirements but that existing RGAs be subject only to safety and licence inspections “with the proviso that unsafe circumstances will be noted." Under that proposal, if the licence inspection raised safety concerns with the rental unit, only then the requirement for a full building inspection process and the potential requirement for a building permit and construction to address deficiencies would be triggered.
In introducing the matter, White said issues have been raised by residents applying for RGA licences located in properties that were modified without building permits. The cost of building inspections, permits and construction to meet current building codes to bring units in such circumstances into compliance have, in some cases, been prohibitive according to the mayor.
Coun. David Croal said he was aware of the issue. “There are people who are prepared to pay the fees [to operate an RGA], but they find out they are suddenly non-compliant,” he said. In his view some of these owners operated short-term rentals in residentially zoned properties in what he called “a grey zone” while the Town was without specific rules about RGA. “Now we have a bylaw and they are trapped,” he said. He also stated that the situation is affecting “probably half a dozen cases” and should not outweigh the risks to the municipality that could be created by licensing businesses in uninspected premises.
While staff were unable to provide details on the number of building permits that have been triggered by RGA applications, they did note that of the 71 RGA units that the Town was aware of before the regulations were introduced, close to 60 have either been approved or are in the application process.
A call for a full review of RGA rules
Coun. Stafford Lumley asked “Are we going to keep cherry-picking certain things in this bylaw? Maybe we should take a look at the whole bylaw and make it fair for everyone.”
“It is hard to go back, We have issued 22 licences,” White said in response. He indicated his preference would be to wait until 2024 and the expiry of the temporary use permits issued for those business licences to revisit the bylaws and the full RGA process.
