Gibsons council has voted to put consideration of a bylaw on short-term rentals on hold until September after two sessions of online public hearings.
The Town estimates there are about 91 short-term rental units in Gibsons.
The proposed bylaw would put short-term rentals booked through services like Airbnb in the same category as traditional bed and breakfasts and require business licences for operators. It would also require the host to remain on site during guest stays.
That requirement was the most contentious issue during the public hearing, which was held in two parts July 14 and July 21, and the majority of the written submissions and speakers that came forward were opposed, mainly because of that clause.
One of the written submissions in favour of the bylaws claimed the short-term rentals have “turned a sweet little town into a greedy, short-sighted nightmare that has destroyed our community.”
One opposed said, “You may change your tune when local restaurants/cafes/bars/breweries start to go belly up [when] visitors choose to vacation elsewhere because they can find suitable accommodation in other locations.”
The other opinions put forward, for and against, were not that extreme.
Several speakers who said they were both short-term rental operators and frequent users while travelling, pointed out that many clients prefer to book stays at STRs where the owner isn’t on site so they can have privacy.
Others, like Brett Beadle, who manages STRs on the Coast, spoke about the importance of short-term rentals for the local tourism industry. “We have a lot of visitors coming here and the proposed bylaws would turn those people away,” he said.
Another theme at the hearing was that only a handful of STRs cause problems and some speakers challenged the Town to provide data showing how many complaints have been made about STRs and data proving they have a negative impact on the long-term rental market.
When the bylaw came up for third reading at the July 21 council meeting, Coun. Stafford Lumley said while he agreed that STRs need to be regulated, he wanted to see an amendment to change the host on site rule. “I think being that restrictive might punish a legitimate small business,” he said.
Coun. Annemarie De Andrade also said she felt the bylaw needed amendments and that, as written, it “was trying to address one problem and creating another big problem” and suggested deferring a vote on the bylaw until the results of a housing needs assessment currently underway come in.
Mayor Bill Beamish said he favoured a fairly restrictive bylaw because of the impact on long-term rental stock and the possibility clusters of STRs could hollow-out neighbourhoods. “One of the issues with short-term rentals is you’re not building community,” he said.
He agreed with putting the bylaw on hold until September so the full council could be present – Coun. Aleria Ladwig was not at the July 21 meeting.
Although he did vote for deferal, Coun. David Croal pointed out that waiting until September would mean STRs in the Town continue to operate in a “grey zone.”
