Staff are also 'no' on in-house short-term rentals

Mingling pays off in La Conner.

The proof is in the long-term results from an October forum on short-term rentals.

Residential input on short-term rentals at the Civic Garden Club building – referred as “a mingle,” by Town officials – produced much-anticipated planning department recommendations.

The staff report was well received at the Nov. 21 Town Planning Commission hybrid session at Maple Hall by community members concerned that the green light for inclusion in town neighborhoods could be given.

That possibility appears highly unlikely now, based on staff analysis by Planning Director Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills.

“After fully considering the arguments on all sides of this issue,” Davolio and Eills said in a memorandum issued prior to the planning meeting, “we recommend that little change be made in our current regulations. This means that short-term rentals would continue to be prohibited in the Town’s residential zone, with the continuing exception for bed-and-breakfasts.

“Short-term rentals,” they added, “would continue to be permitted – with better definition – in the commercial zone.”

Davolio and Eills noted that current legally initiated short-term rentals in residential areas would be deemed as grandfathered uses and allowed to continue.

“Based on what we heard from the mingle, we looked at the issue and heard what the public had to say and what you (commissioners) had to say,” Davolio told commissioners, explaining the staff’s decision to maintain the status quo in principle.

The mingling, said Mayor-elect Marna Hanneman, provided added perspectives to the year-long debate over short-term rentals.

“We might just do it with our larger issues,” she said, “to make sure we’re listening to the community.”

Staff will continue to review definitions governing short-term rentals to ensure consistency with any code revisions proposed in the future.

“We’ll be looking at definitions and other sections (of the municipal code) and bring back something more substantive,” Davolio said.

He and Eills have endeavored on the short-term rentals matter to equally weigh neighborhood integrity and economic interests, he said.

“Throughout the discussion of this topic,” the memo stated, “the staff has encouraged a balance between protecting the quality of life in residential neighborhoods and enabling the stability of local businesses in La Conner’s tourism-based economy.”

“It’s a moral issue,” Center Street resident William Smith has frequently stressed.

His view, shared by others, is reflected in the planning staff’s recommendations.

“Short-term rentals are prohibited in the residential zone,” Davolio assured. “We’re not proposing to change that. What we want to do is change some language for clarity on short-term rentals allowed in the commercial zone.