05-21-2012 Planning Commission Packet

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' FILE#11-3503 15 March 2012 Page 3 of 4 either had neighbor complaints about slip rental,viewed signs on docks saying 'dock for rent', or in a few cases found ads on CraigsList for slip rental at private residences in Orono. • At the same time, we suspect there is probably a significant number of rental situations that we don't get complaints on from neighboring property owners, and that have not caused issues within the associated neighborhood. • But, we do have 5 commercial marinas providing some 450 rental slips, and they are keenly aware that some percentage of their slip rental customers will gravitate to a less costly privately rented slip ifthe opportunity is available. • The wording of the code since its inception in 1962 has included the term "renting or otherwise providing space" as the regulated activity. The only logical reason for this is that it is and always has been difFicult to prove that money is changing hands, so claims of I'm not renting, they just let me keep it here are not a loophole. • Further, the language regarding a boat owner's relationship to the property has evolved from "persons other than the owner of the property" in 1962, to "persons other than the owner or renter of the property" in 1974, to "persons other than the owner or occupant of the property" from 1984 to today. The Council has correctly pointed out that this language makes it a violation to allow a,�neighbor or a relative keep a boat at your dock. Council has directed that the proposed language for the code alternative that continues to regulate slip rental, be modified to allow such use. • Whether it is a common occurrence that a lakeshore owner allows their off-lake neighbor or a relative to dock a boat has not been studied or documented; we have really no way of tracking , . this, nor do we have any desire to track it. And, our experience is that these situations are not generating the majority of complaints we receive. • Property ownership and the leasing of lakeshore property add an element of complexity to the regulatory stage, in terms of what rights are afforded different situations. One of the difficulties is how to define 'occupant of tfie property'. Two actual examples staff has faced: o If one rents or leases a lakeshore cabin, does that give him dock rights? What if he's not living there, but just visits the cabin to use the dock? What if up to four unrelated persons each have a lease of the cabin, but don't live there (maybe don't even have a key to get into the cabin)they just visit the property to use their boat? This situation existed in 1993 and exists today, with a residence structure that has a tax valuation of $3,000 and is not habitable, yet up to 4 slips continue to be rented out to various persons, because the property owner is able to produce cabin rental leases for the boat owners. This situation resulted in an opinion from the City Attorney in 1993 that "absent some evidence that the spaces at the dock are being rented out to persons who are not entitled to use the remaining portions of the property, we believe this does not constitute a commercial use of the docK'. His comparative analysis concluded that "if this type of arrangement is construed to be an unlawful operation of a commercial dock, any dweUing in this (residentialJ district would also constitute an illegal commercial dock if the tenant used the dock on the property to store a boat". o If I live in and homestead in Maple Grove but my parents own•a lakeshore cabin on Lake Minnetonka, and my boat that I keep at the cabin is registered in my name to my residence in Maple Grove, what is my status? I'm clearly neither the owner nor the occupant. In a few past cases, the boat owners have re-titled their boat to the property owners name and address to get around this.