Editor:
As homeowners in a quiet neighbourhood in Sechelt for 16 years we have depended on council to legislate bylaws to protect our lifestyle and the value of our investment. Two years ago the house next door became a short-term rental (STR), which introduced us to a stream of new “neighbours” every few days. Allowing businesses to operate in a single-family zone should not be permitted and STRs have become big business on the Coast aided partly due to lax zoning regulations. We are concerned about the negative effect it will have on the value of our residence.
The writer of a letter to the editor on Dec. 3, “STR issue needs a solution,” hits the nail on the head when she describes what it’s like to live beside an STR. It certainly does not have to be a “party house” for it to cause stress and anxiety to the neighbours. She goes on to describe “vacation behaviour” which STR guests can exhibit whether a party house or not. If you are unlucky enough to live beside an STR, especially one with a hot tub, you will be familiar with this behaviour. Even if the current guests are quiet, every two or three days you will experience a new set of guests ready to exhibit the more typical “vacation behaviour.”
Another letter, on Dec 17, challenges Sechelt’s director of planning’s interpretation of our community’s split decision on STRs. Sechelt residents who do not live beside or across from an STR would likely have no opinion at all on STRs. Most of the input at the recent council meeting was from owners or local businesses that benefit from STRs. If council really wants to get a true picture of how the STRs are hollowing out our neighbourhoods, they could start by sending a questionnaire to property owners adjacent to all STRs and request comments.
Council needs to take action on this issue now, not another year from now when the zoning bylaws will be hopefully rewritten. In the meantime let’s make a small start by allowing only one STR licence per operator and insisting on “on site” operators and limiting the number of guests per house. Finally, Sechelt council should ask themselves this question: “Would I knowingly buy a house beside an STR?”
Martin & Deirdre Mendes, Sechelt
