Editor:
Our once bucolic neighborhood of Sandy Hook is changing rapidly as new homes are built and new neighbours move into our little piece of paradise. This is to be expected and until recently has been well managed. An unsettling problem now however stares us down the throat. Our neighborhood is being converted into an Airbnb destination of sorts with loud parties going late into the night; careless drivers speeding down our unfamiliar streets endangering pedestrians, pets and wildlife; garbage put out on the wrong days endangering the very life of our local bear population; and large numbers of cars get parked on local streets. The reduction of much-needed long-term rental stock and the small property taxes collected from what are actually in some cases hotel-type businesses hurts all of us. Some of these seemingly purpose-built boutique hotels have upwards of six bedrooms with absentee owners.
I think that we can all agree that well-managed short-term rentals can be an asset to the community; what is needed are tough new regulations stipulating that the owner must reside on the premises and with limits put on the number of rooms rented. Two simple fixes that would go a long way to working for all of our community. Compliance should be managed not as a complaint-driven process with its many flaws but rather by active management similar to health inspections done at restaurants. Licensees could help to fund this effort. Other nearby jurisdictions have been approving these positive changes, including Vancouver. It is time for the District of Sechelt to stop punting this down the road and to take new action on this pressing problem that is devaluing our communities.
Neil Edmunds, Sechelt
