03-14-2016 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, March 14, 2016 7:00 o'clock p.m. B. ##15-3759 CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT: SHORT-TERM (VACATION) RENTALS ORDINANCE (continued) McMillan asked if his neighbor always rents her house out. Knutson indicated it has not been and that the lady has been attempting to sell her house, which has not been successful. Knutson stated until it sells, she has been renting the house to supplement her income. Knutson stated he will provide two examples of people that have lived there. One was a family of five, with two teenage daughters, and dogs. The two teenage daughters would have parties when their mom and dad left. Knutson stated their hot tub is closer than he is to the Council right now and is close to his bedroom. Knutson stated it was very inconvenient and disruptive. The other example was a lady who moved in for six months. Knutson stated she owned a small dog and then left the dog outside when it was ten degrees outside for hours and the dog would bark almost nonstop. Knutson indicated his wife had to go over and pound on the door and say it was minus ten degrees outside and that she should take care of her dog. Knutson stated someone should not leave a dog that is that small outside in that kind of weather for that length of time. McMillan noted under the current draft, both of those examples would have qualified for short-term rentals. Knutson stated he is concerned when the length of time gets down to two to three days. Dave Jamieson, 3285 Layfette Ridge, stated he lives across the street from the rental house. Jamieson stated the main thing is that they all have grandchildren that visit, and when you have somebody staying for six months, the neighbors at least get to know them, but if you have somebody coming in for a week at a time, they are not sure what they are getting. Jamieson stated he finds it to be a little bit of a security issue and that the dog barking was a real pain. Printup stated the comments are one of the reasons the City Council looked into this issue. McMillan noted the City is talking about licensing short-term rentals, which may encourage more people to do it once it becomes legitimate. Walsh asked what could happen if the City does license these and then the renters do whatever they want anyway. Mattick indicated the people can be criminally prosecuted. Mattick noted proving they are renting is difficult and that they would have to rely on planning staff to be a criminal investigator, which does not always work. Walsh stated given the reluctance of this Council to prosecute other issues, he would have a concern that the City is not going to uphold this ordinance as well. Walsh stated in his view requiring a license and having contact information is important, but that he is a little conflicted on the 21 versus 18. Walsh stated in his view reiterating things in the code is good but that he is conflicted on the enforcement part. Page 27 of 37