Short-Term Rentals Subject of Discussion at Zoning Committee Meeting

The Zoning Committee met last Wednesday to work on recommendations for short-term rentals to present to the Town Council. Craig Moore presented the Committee with eleven recommendations that he researched from the City of Bozeman as reference for consideration and discussion, the hope being that the Committee could "tweek" them to apply to Cascade. The recommendations are as follow:

1. Short-term rentals (STRs) are defined as AirBnB, VRBO, or similar online booking platforms that includes State of Montana occupancy taxes and liability coverage for the homeowner.

2. Any STR policy for the Town of Cascade will apply to areas zoned as residential, excluding commercial or multi-family dwellings as described by Cascade policy.

3. A limit shall be placed on the number of allowed STRs on a "first in - first allowed" basis with a limit of 5% of residential properties. There are approximately 350 water users in Cascade, with roughly 20% zoned commercial. This would allow for roughly 12-15 homes that can be rented as a STR.

(*Channing Hartelius recommended there be 20-25 homes, but new Zoning Committee member Denise Fabiano said that would be too many, and suggested 10-12. Zoning Committee President, Ron Flink, agreed that 20-25 would be too many and suggested that the Committee give this item more thought before the next meeting.)

4. STRs are limited to homeowners that spend at least 20% of the year in their Cascade residence (72 days), and are properly permitted with the Town of Cascade. (*Define residency.)

5. Homeowners that wish to rent their home as a STR must receive a permit from the Town of Cascade to do so. This permit would cost $100 per year and be renewed annually. Homeowners that are properly permitted for STRs may auto-renew their STR permit as long as they pay their annual fee in advance of the expiration date. ( *Denise Fabiano recommended to raise the permit to $500/year, the fee to go to enforcement.)

6. Homeowners that rent their homes as a STR without a Town of Cascade permit are subject to a $500 fine and potential ban from future operation as a STR. ( *A resolution would be needed for this.)

7. Homeowners that properly receive a STR permit from the Town of Cascade must post their permit on their AirBnB or VRBO (or other) listing. Failure to do so will constitute a $250 fine and potential revocation of permit.

8. Homeowners with a proper STR permit must show they rent their home a minimum of 36 nights or be subject to loss of permit.

9. STR permits are limited to one home in Cascade per property household. A homeowner that owns property A and a second property B, is not eligible for a second permit in the name of a family member or spouse.

10. Any residential property that is owned by an S-Corp, LLC, or corporation is not eligible for a STR permit.

11. STR permits are allowed for lodging purposes only. STRs that are used for non-lodging purposes are subject to a $250 fine and possible revocation or ban of STR permit. (*Set by resolution.)

After a lengthy discussion of each individual recommendation with comments and questions from all members,

Zoning Committee President, Ron Flink, said that the committee needed to more closely scrutinize some of them and flagged a few for further consideration, in addition to looking into short-term rentals located in the commercial zone. It was further commented that State law required that the STRs needed to have licensing through the Health Department of Cascade County. The Committee will have their next meeting on May, 15, at 6:00pm at Wedsworth Hall. They will have to reach a consensus before making their recommendations to the Town Council and have a public hearing. City attorneys will have to be involved with this after it is presented.