The District of Sechelt is including possible updates to the rules around short-term rentals as part of a bigger overhaul of its main zoning bylaw.
In a report to be presented at the Sept. 1 meeting of the district’s advisory planning commission (APC), director of planning Andrew Allen says the proposed new bylaw, known as Zoning Bylaw 580, will replace a previous bylaw adopted in 1987.
“[The bylaw] has served the district well, however the time has come to create a new updated zoning bylaw that aligns with the district Official Community Plan (OCP) and community values,” Allen’s report says, noting that it has been amended more than 250 times in the past 33 years.
Allen’s report says the new zoning bylaw will also trim the 56 distinct land use zones in Sechelt to 23 and modernize several sets of regulations.
Short-term rentals are highlighted in one of the five “issue summaries” prepared for the APC to offer feedback on.
The summary notes the benefits of short-term rentals include additional revenue for homeowners, providing tourist accommodations, and attracting new residents and “economic input” to Sechelt and the Sunshine Coast.
The challenges outlined in the summary include parties and noise, “loss of neighbourhood identity,” lack of on-site supervision and enforcement.
Under Sechelt’s current rules, short-term rentals must have a specific business licence and operators have to provide a local contact to other residential properties within 100 metres.
Some of the ideas being put forward for inclusion in the new Bylaw 580 are:
• Maintain the form and character of the residential building.
• Only one dwelling unit per property can be used as a short-term rental.
• A clear distinction between bed and breakfast and short-term rental uses.
• A maximum of six guests.
• The short-term rental must be operated by the principal resident of the property.
• Maximum of 30 or 90 days rental per year.
The other Bylaw 580 issue summaries going before the APC on Sept. 1 are ALR uses, home businesses, residential infill and urban agriculture.
Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast Regional District are also working on updated short-term rental bylaws, which went to public hearings in July, but have yet to be adopted by either government.
