Keep the short term conversation going

Now that an actual conversation has started regarding short term rentals in Saratoga at the August 13 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, we believe this conversation should continue.

First, we commend the planning commission for holding a public hearing on the issue and getting feedback from the public. We also commend those residents who showed up to the meeting to make their voices heard, regardless of their viewpoints on potential short term rental regulations.

Following the public hearing, there are some things we believe need to be considered or reflected upon regarding this issue.

Workforce Housing

We believe the issues of short term rentals and workforce housing are linked, as are the solutions.

As we proposed in a previous editorial, we believe that not only should there be a permitting and registration process, but that it should come with an annual fee. We don’t believe the annual fee should deter people from wanting to use their investment properties as short term rentals. We do believe the fee should be enough that it can be used to either pay for additional staff to enforce any regulations or be reserved in an enterprise fund for potential public-private partnerships regarding workforce housing.

The need for workforce housing should be apparent to anyone who lives in Saratoga. Downtown Saratoga is mostly empty on Sunday and Monday, especially in the evening, as the restaurants and Bridge Avenue aren’t open. The retail stores are open seven days a week, but when someone is shopping downtown and looking for a place to eat on one of the two days restaurants are typically closed, it leaves locals little to suggest.

One business, in fact, told the planning commission they had seen a 15% drop in revenue year-over-year because they couldn’t be open on Monday which was tied to low staffing.

Unfortunately, what few long term rentals are available are a little on the pricey side with landlords asking for approximately $2,000 per month plus utilities. That’s not including first month and last month rent or the deposit.

We believe the Town does have a way in which it can help alleviate the situation.

The municipality owns two city blocks near Saratoga Middle High School, one block located on Bridge Avenue between 9th and 10th streets and another block located on Elm Avenue between 10th and 11th streets. It also owns property along Cypress Avenue above the Hugus Mullison Ditch and the municipal pool as well as property near the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services Ambulance Barn on South River Street.

Any of these properties could be used as a location for workforce housing with the Town of Saratoga establishing a housing authority. Each of these locations, also, are located near amenities which young workers and young families could benefit from: either near the schools, near the community garden and swimming pool, or near the grocery store.

The Town of Saratoga, however, has punted on the idea of the municipality having anything to do with workforce housing. Comments have ranged from current council members saying the Town can’t build the housing to previous council members saying the Town shouldn’t be landlords. To be clear, it’s never been a request for the municipality itself to build housing and rent it out, but rather for our local government to find ways to incentivize developers and remove potential hurdles to establish workforce housing in the community.

Property Rights or Zoning?

An argument we’ve heard made against any short term rental regulations is that of private property rights, that the Town of Saratoga has no authority to dictate what a person does with their property.

In response, we would point to all of Title 18 of the Saratoga Municipal Code, which deals with zoning in municipal limits.

Regardless of the zone, there are things property owners can and cannot do depending on the zone. Hotels and motels, for example, are allowed in highway business and retail business zones but not in any residential zone. Just because you want to put a hotel or motel on your property—if it happens to be in a residential zone—doesn’t mean you can just because it’s your property.

We would argue that short term rentals count as a business, one specifically tailored to the tourism industry of Saratoga. They certainly play a key role in our industry, seeing as there is little chance of more hotels appearing in either the current business zones, but should be treated as a business. As with any other use that is not permitted within each zoned district, especially in residential zones, they should be operating under a special use permit.

Home Rule: Don’t Wait on the State

Since this discussion began in earnest last November, it has been suggested by members of the Saratoga Town Council that the planning commission should wait for either litigation or legislation. That is to say, the planning commission should wait until another municipality in Wyoming is sued for regulating short term rentals—which doesn’t appear to be happening–or the legislature takes up the issue.

As was pointed out by Representative Bob Davis of House District 47, however, all municipalities have “home rule” under the Wyoming Constitution.

Indeed, Article 13, Section 1(b) of the state constitution reads, “All cities and towns are hereby empowered to determine their local affairs and government as established by ordinance passed by the governing body.” Additionally, Article 13, Section 1(d) reads, “The powers and authority granted to cities and towns, pursuant to this section, shall be liberally construed for the purpose of giving the largest measure of self-government to cities and towns.”

This information can also be found in a 2010 publication from the Wyoming Association of Municipalities called “Home Rule in Wyoming: A Municipal Official’s Guide.”

Keep The Conversation Going

All that said, we believe the conversation regarding short term rentals—and workforce housing—should be continued in all acceptable venues. Whether that’s in meetings of the planning commission or the town council, in local coffee groups or even in the letters to the editor section of this very newspaper. Those conversations should be intelligent and respectful, regardless of how either party feels about each other’s positions on the matter.

Finally, we would again encourage either the Saratoga Planning Commission or the Saratoga Town Council to form a committee of interested parties. Ideally, the committee should include a planning commission member, a town council member, the owner or manager of a hotel, the owner of a short term rental and an at-large position held by a local resident.