Affordable housing and sub divisions collide

The Saratoga Planning Commission, now fully seated, discussed short-term rentals (STRs), affordable housing and subdivisions during their August 8 meeting.

JoDell Hone, the most recently appointed board member, joins Matt Baker, Johnny Portillo, McCall Burau, Nancy Ford, Mayor Chuck Davis and Chia Valdez-Schwartz on the planning commission. The make-up of the commission appears quite diverse with members either being long-time locals or recent arrivals to Saratoga and includes retired individuals, local business owners and real estate agents.

Short Term Rentals

Short Term Rentals, such as AirBNB and VRBO, and their impact on the community was a heavy topic for the planning commission. A relatively new business, short term rentals allow property owners to rent-out private residences for a brief period of time such as a few days or a week. This is opposed to long-term rentals, which can go for several months to several years.

Planning Council members are currently looking into passing ordinances to zoning and enforcement to help ease the impact of AirBNBs’ on the community. The commission referred to other municipalities that have already put ordinances into effect in order to get a base of what works and where to start on regulation and licensing. According to Burau, the commission is looking at the Town of Dubois and Ordinance No. 453, which was passed last year.

Members of the commission feel it necessary to address the concerns of STR’s and seek to regulate the growing business within the town limits. Some of the regulations discussed included requiring licensing to operate an STR, what zoned districts would be allowed to operate STR’s, how many houses can be used for STR’s and ways of keeping the ownership of these properties local.

The guidelines for compliant use and fines that could be implemented must be presented to the general public in a meeting that is open to all for discussion. Once the Planning Council agrees on the language for the changes to be made to the town ordinance and zoning a public hearing will be set.

Affordable Housing

In a similar line of discussion, Davis informed the commission of a workshop and town hall-style meeting in September with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding Saratoga’s infrastructure and affordable housing needs. According to Davis, the meeting was being facilitated by representatives from the office of Congresswoman Harriet Hageman.

Subdivision

Octagon Construction was in attendance for the Aug 8 meeting for approval of Preliminary Plats for the construction of their new subdivision near the Saratoga water tower. Concern was expressed over being able to tie into the natural gas lines feeding Saratoga to the new subdivision. Octagon owner Bo Stocks said, “the main issue with tying into the existing natural gas lines is that the main line leaving the interstate is not large enough to handle the additional load of the new subdivision.”

Instead of using natural gas to heat the new homes Stocks mentioned setting up a propane system to feed the new homes. Council members turned towards safety concerns over using propane compared to natural gas, or if the contract Saratoga has with Black Hills Energy would allow the system to be installed.

When asked about the possibility of building affordable housing for the community, Kristen Stocks wanted to understand what affordable means and where the market is in comparison.

Transportation Alternatives Program (TAPS)

TAPS is a program to assess a community’s pathways and alternate byways used by pedestrians for foot traffic around town. The program looks at existing alternate pathways and can provide help in obtaining funding in creating new routes for non motorist transportation. A meeting has been set for September 13 2023 to go over possible additions or renovations.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission will be at 5:30 p.m. on September 12 at Saratoga Town Hall.