Short term rental permit untabled?

Three months after tabling a draft short term rental permit application, the Saratoga Planning Commission once again discussed the impact of short term rentals in Saratoga at its February 13 meeting.

The discussion was brought up by James “Jimmy” Campbell, a resident and business owner in Saratoga. Citing the goals the planning commission has set for 2024, Campbell said he was disappointed to see there was nothing regarding short term rentals. Chairwoman McCall Burau reminded Campbell the planning commission had tabled its proposed application at the guidance of Kylie Waldrip, legal counsel for the Town of Saratoga.

In November 2023, Waldrip had told the planning commission that there was potential litigation in Teton County surrounding a short term rental ordinance which would go into effect in January 2024. Waldrip’s advice to the planning commission was to let a larger municipality take the fight to court to determine whether or not short term rentals could be regulated in Wyoming.

When asked by the Saratoga Sun, neither Jackson planning director Paul Anthony nor Teton County Chief Deputy County Attorney Keith Gingery were aware of any litigation being brought forth related to the most recent short term rental ordinance.

Campbell told the planning commission he had spent the past two months traveling to three different states and staying in short term rentals listed on AirBNB. According to Campbell, the other states required short term rentals to have a business license and a short term rental permit, both of which were displayed in the rental. He added other requirements included a smoke alarm, a carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher.

“We have none of that. We have absolute rampantness. I would love to see that happen and, before you even do that, I would just like a list of businesses that are running out of the residential areas,” said Campbell. “They’re paying lodging tax and they have to have a business license, so we need commercial rates on the trash and sewer.”

According to Saratoga Municipal Code, the resident rate for sewer service is $22.75 per month while the commercial rate is $28.14 per month. Trash rates, which are set by the Upper Platte River Solid Waste District, are $24 per month for residential properties and $35 per month for residential properties conducting business from the residence.

Campbell added that, by having tabled the short term rental permit process, the only thing gained was the addition of more short term rentals “that eventually we’re going to have to grandfather.”

“Each time we’re getting more and more of these but I believe that we really need to step up and start a list of them. People that have short term rentals in RD 7200 need to go through a special use permit,” said Campbell. “There’s no way we can revoke it, but we need to have them go around for signatures, we need to make these people aware that there’s all these short term rentals. I think this is a priority.”

According to Section 18.18.020 of the Saratoga Municipal Code, the permitted uses in RD 7200 include single-family dwellings, schools, churches, libraries, museums and public parks. Specially permitted uses include hospitals or clinics, day care centers and professional office buildings.

As discussion continued, it seemed the majority of the planning commission supported Campbell’s request to resume the process of regulating short term rentals. Planning commission member Chia Valdez volunteered herself to help Campbell create a list of the short term rentals operating within Saratoga’s municipal limits. Valdez cited Winter Park and Fraser, Colorado as examples of western towns which were “discovered” and later dealt with an influx of short term rentals. Both municipalities have short term regulations in place.

“Saratoga is right at that point,” said Valdez. “They have discovered us and we have to do something about it.”

As discussion continued, however, the question remained as to what the Town of Saratoga could and could not regulate when it came to short term rentals. Burau cited concerns raised by Waldrip in November regarding regulations applied to short term rentals in residential districts which weren’t applied to single family dwellings in the same districts such as the requirement of trash service.

“The argument that Kylie had made was that we don’t require every citizen to have trash service,” said Burau. “It has to be fair across the board.”

“It’s unfair to begin with because we’ve allowed these people to move into the neighborhoods completely unchecked,” said Campbell. “I’m not willing to make it easy. I just want to regulate it. I don’t want to limit it, I want to regulate it and permit it and have them have to jump through hoops to have a (short term) rental here.”

With discussion drawing to a close, Mayor Chuck Davis said the Saratoga Town Council would likely consider resuming a short term rental permit process if a member of the public, or members of the public, were to make a request during a public meeting. Director of Public Works Emery Penner, meanwhile, advised the planning commission that they would need a clear set of goals regarding short term rentals in Saratoga to present to Waldrip.

“I think those who are afraid of short term rentals would like a cap on how much we allow,” said Burau. “We’re not sure we can do that although other towns in Wyoming are doing that.”

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