Stock image of a bed and breakfast (Photo 20958171 © Brian Goodman | Dreamstime.com)

By Liam Verster

B&B Style Rentals

Vernon’s short term rental policy to be revamped

Aug 16, 2022 | 5:00 AM

Short Term Rental (STRs) operators in Vernon may see some changes in the future, including the style of rentals and licensing fees.

Vernon currently does not have any regulations surrounding STRs, and a policy was being developed to only allow Minor STRs, which resemble bed and breakfasts in that a person resides on the property to oversee the rental, within the more populated areas, while Major STRs, which do not require someone being on site but do require the owner or a caretaker be available on call 24/7, would be allowed in the Hillside Residential and Agricultural District or the Waterfront Neighbourhood Plan Area.

Current short term rental regulations with Minor STRS allowed in the blue areas and Major STRs permitted in the orange zones (image courtesy of the City of Vernon)

However, at the meeting, council heard recommendations to revise the proposal and only permit Minor STRs on properties within Vernon.

Speaking with Vernon Matters after the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming said the new regulations would only allow for STRs in which there is a resident in the home or on the property.

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“So you’re renting a portion of your home or your property and you are a resident there,” said Cumming, noting that the city would deal with STRs that don’t have a person living on the property at another time.

“So we’ll deal with this other part (Minor STRs) first, and then we’ll go into this. I suspect the next council will have to address the full home (Major) short term rentals situation.”

In addition to limiting the style of STR allowed in Vernon, Administration recommended that a new business licensing category of STR Minor be added to the Business Licensing Bylaw. This would impose fees on the operators of STRs, which in turn would go to support increased oversight of the STRs.

It was also recommended that a third party private company be brought in to establish a database of the STRs, oversee licensing, and help track compliance. The recommendation calls for $50,000 be spent to bring in the third party for the first year, noting that future expenses related to the private company could be covered by the new licensing fees.

A third party company would also be able to create a database that allows the city to monitor STRs and determine exactly how many are operational in Vernon.

Administration added that the third party companies they have looked into offer 24 hour hot lines, allowing people to call in their complaints and concerns, which then get directed to through proper channels.

The City of Vernon gathered feedback from the public in July, which saw approximately 600 people provide their take on the matter. The results of the consultations found 47.2 per cent of respondents said they disagreed with the proposed changes. Just under 29 per cent of respondents were in favour of the changes, while 24 per cent were neutral. However, nearly 75 per cent of respondents found that only operators that comply with their business licenses should have their licenses renewed.

Council endorsed the proposed changes along with a timeline for updating the zoning and business bylaws. Staff plan to draft proposed bylaw amendments in August and September, build an STR address database and online STR business license application process by the end of October, create STR Operator and Guest Guides by the end of October, and present the proposed bylaw to amendments to the next council on November 14.

Cumming told Vernon Matters the hope is the proposed changes create a balance between those operating STRs and the needs of the public.

“The needs of the public are that [STRs] are appropriate for residential areas, so you’re not creating something that is incongruent with usual residential use, and if we can get these two things to be congruent, it requires some basic licensing et cetera, so we can track and so neighbours can know and things like that,” said Cumming.

“So we think that that is a good first step.”

Cumming also stated that he didn’t believe regulating STRs would create more housing options.

“I don’t think it will have impact on housing supply. This is just parts of existing homes or properties. We do not expect this to have any effect on the overall supply of long term rentals.”

The proposed bylaw changes won’t be ready until November, after a new council has been elected.