Square Pegs in Round Holes

Regarding the city losing these court cases over vacation rentals, I am reminded about how the city staff chose to proceed down the path that they took.

Years ago, when this started to become an issue, it was suggested to the planning staff and the deputy city attorney, during Planning Commission public hearings, that while vacation rentals were a different thing than long-term housing, they were not hotels either. It was observed that the city staff was trying to put a square peg in a round hole by clinging to the illogical position that vacation rentals are all the same and are the same as hotels.

The city staff were urged then that the city should craft rules to deal with vacation rentals as a unique and different type of residential use as many other communities have done with generally acceptable results. But our city staff has adamantly refused to deal with vacation rentals any other way than as a hotel with all of the attendant building modifications, etc.

Thus we now have the situation as described where the court cases are costing us taxpayers once again for the actions of our “public servants.”