Proposed permits for short-term rentals

The Mason County Planning Advisory Commission staff presented another draft for short-term rental regulations, including a permit requirement and mandatory management plan that includes rules of conduct for guests, according to a public hearing Oct. 21.

Mason County commissioners directed the PAC to come up with rules for short-term rentals to address residents’ concerns about overuse of septic systems, beach trespassing and harvesting, and noise complaints, according to the county.

The PAC solicited public comments and hosted several workshops on the proposal.

“Staff has used this framework, research from other jurisdictions, analysis of existing Mason County code, and knowledge of existing administrative practices within the Department of Community Development as well as consultation with Environmental Health to revise the draft,” the PAC staff report states.

The latest draft removes “vacation” from the proposal and covers all “short-term rentals.”

It will apply in all zoning districts of the county and separates the rentals into two types: owner or operator occupied and rentals that are not owner or operator occupied nor does the owner/operator reside on the property.

The required permit will be renewed annually, and no fee has been decided yet.

On-site parking must be provided, and occupancy limits will be two persons per bedroom with an additional two persons allowed, according to the draft.

Occupancy also depends on the number of bedrooms approved in relation to the septic or sewer connection.

The operator of the short-term rental should be available 24 hours a day for guests and needs to respond within one hour and be on-site within two hours if needed to address issues or complaints, the draft regulations state.

The required property management plan needs to advise guests about where to park, quiet hours, trespassing, littering and pet rules.

Prior to permit issuance, a fire, health and building code inspection will be required.

The proposed rules also outline complaint procedures and violations and enforcement, including revocation of the permit if three violations occur within 12 months.

The next step in adopting the regulations is for the PAC to recommend one of the following options to the board of county commissioners:

■ Make a recommendation to the BOCC to approve the regulations as presented.

■ Make a recommendation to the BOCC to approve the regulations with suggested revisions.

■ Make a recommendation to the BOCC to disapprove adopting regulations.

The PAC did not make a recommendation at the Oct. 21 meeting, Senior Planner Marissa Watson told the Journal.

They will individually make edits to the draft and then meet Dec. 16 to deliberate on the edits, Watson said.

The county has never regulated short-term rentals, but the state has rules that became effective July 28, 2019. Many counties and cities have already extended the statutes to include their own regulations.

The Planning Department sent postcards to waterfront property owners asking them to fill out a survey on short-term rentals and responses were collected Nov. 16 to Jan. 12.

Most short-term rentals in Mason County are on the shoreline, according to the committee.

More than 1,500 people responded.

The first question on the survey was, “Have you been negatively impacted by, or do you have concerns about short-term rentals (Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway, etc.) in Mason County, WA?”

Out of 1,504 respondents, 42% said “yes,” 48% said “no” and 10% said “maybe.”

The committee continued to solicit public input and all comments through Oct. 7 are posted on the Planning Department’s website.

In the most recent comments from September and October, 12 residents wrote in support of county regulation and one resident urged the county to keep fees low if permits are implemented.

Several homeowners on Harstene Pointe wrote to ask the county to ban or reduce short-term rentals, including Barbara Hrehov.

“In the past 4 yrs we have seen an incredible increase in STRs. To where there are currently approximately 70 STR’s,” Hrehov wrote.

Harstene Pointe residents have seen rental guests illegally harvesting shellfish, speeding through the neighborhood and the additional people have stressed the private sewer and water treatment center, according to Hrehov.

“I have hope that Mason County will help us out by banning STRs or significant reducing the number of them,” she wrote.

Harstene Pointe resident Karen Goodwin also wants to “discourage” short-term rentals in the community.

“I no longer feel safe in my community and now lock my doors. I have no idea who the people are who are renting houses in our neighborhood. I only know how loud and obnoxious they are when partying into the late and early hours. There has been complete disregard for the rules we have in our community, which has resulted in vandalism, destruction of community property, and disturbance of daily living,” Goodwin wrote.

“As a result of all the extra people using our infrastructure – we now have additional fees for water, sewer and garbage. The owners pay for this – not the STR owners or renters,” according to Goodwin.

Terry Clancy, who operates a short-term rental, wrote that he doesn’t earn significant income on his rental, and it sits vacant for much of the year.

“Also note that flat permit fees discriminate against those who can not command high fees to the benefit of the wealthy and more expensive rentals,” Clancy wrote.

He said guests contribute to the economy by eating at local restaurants, filling up at the local gas station and getting groceries at the local store.

Clancy wrote proposed regulations are “not fair to those of us who have recently purchased in the area on the assumption that short term rentals would allow us to manage the cash flow required as a result of that purchase. On top of that we have invested more than $150K to upgrade our property to handle short term rentals, this includes a new larger septic system and renovation, again this was assuming current regulations would apply. Please do not change things in a way that these investments, and trust, in Mason County will be shown to have been unwise.”