City looks to change zoning regarding short-term rentals

City Council on Monday is set to decide on a zoning text amendment that would prohibit residential short-term rentals in the secondary business district.

Council recently requested the changes to the zoning code following approval of a 60-unit condominium project on U.S. Highway 93 South near the Mountain Mall pond. Questions were raised about the project, known as Eagle Lake, being used for vacation rentals.

To prohibit short-term rentals in the WB-2 secondary business district without affecting the ability to operate short-term rentals in the WB-3 general business district, the permitted uses in the general business district and several related definitions are proposed to be modified, Planning Director Dave Taylor noted in his staff report.

The Whitefish Planning Board last month unanimously voted to recommend the zoning text amendment.

During public comment at the July 19 meeting, Dan Cutforth, owner of the Stumptown Inn, said he opposes the changes to the short term rental rules in Whitefish.

“It takes away the flexibility in use of the land in that area, thus affecting its value. All night we’ve been listening to everyone else complain about the congestion in the WB-3 and here and there ... why are you creating more bottleneck? Why are you taking that away?” he said. “Get the short-term rentals further out and spread them out, help the traffic situation.”

The other of two public comments came from Rhonda Fitzgerald, who owns the Garden Wall Inn and applauded the new changes to the short-term rental code.

“I support this and congratulate you all for cleaning this up, because I think that there are places on WB-2 that would be great for residential, but as long as the threat of that actually becoming short-term rentals instead of residential exists — it can’t be,” Fitzgerald said.

Modifications to the code include the definitions of hospitality and entertainment, hotel and residential short-term rental.

While the WB-2 does not allow residential units outside of a planned unit development, since the permitted uses for the zone lists “hotels, motels, and other hospitality and entertainment uses” short-term rentals could be allowed in existing dwelling units or with a new PUD.

Taylor said that while the change was originally to be included in the text amendments called for in the city’s Strategic Housing Plan, city staff opted to fast track the portion of the change due to a large increase in interest in this type of development.

Changes are proposed for the residential use language of the WB-3 to make it clear they are permitted in that zone, and changing certain definitions to allow them to be restricted in the WB-2.

The definition of “hospitality” is proposed to be amended making it clear that short-term rentals would not be allowed as a type of commercial “lodging” use.

The definition of hotel would be changed to say that a hotel must be under single management and advertised as a hotel, and that short-term rental units do not qualify to be a hotel even if they have more than five units.

City Council meets Monday, Aug. 20 at City Hall beginning at 7:10 p.m.