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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-17-201. 2. 3. 4. City of ]�q�Wh6atR�dge PLANNING COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting December 17, 2020 CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair OHM at 7:00 p.m. This meeting was held virtually, using Zoom video -teleconferencing technology. As duly announced and publicly noticed, the City previously approved this meeting format in order to continue with normal business amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the related public emergency orders promulgated by the State of Colorado and the Wheat Ridge City Council. Before calling the meeting to order, the Chair stated the rules and procedures necessitated by this virtual meeting format. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS Commission Members Present Commission Members Absent: Staff Members Present: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Melissa Antol Kristine Disney Will Kerns Ari Krichiver Daniel Larson Scott Ohm Jahi Simbai Janet Leo Lauren Mikulak, Planning Manager Scott Cutler, Senior Planner Tammy Odean, Recording Secretary APPROVE ORDER OF THE AGENDA It was moved by Commissioner SIMBAI and seconded by Commissioner LARSON to approve the order of the agenda. Motion carried 7-0. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES — December 3, 2020 Planning Commission Minutes December 17, 2020 -1— It was moved by Commissioner LARSON and seconded by Commissioner DISNEY to approve the minutes of December 3, 2020, as written. Motion carried 7-0. 6. PUBLIC FORUM (This is the time for any person to speak on any subject not appearing on the agenda.) No one wished to speak at this time. 7. PUBLIC HEARING A. Case No. ZOA-20-08: a code amendment modifying Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning the regulation of short-term rentals. Mr. Cutler gave a short presentation regarding the code amendment. Commissioner KERNS asked if a duplex owner can use both sides as short-term rental under this ordinance. Mr. Cutler explained that each dwelling unit is separate. If a host/owner is living in one side, then a room in that unit can be rented and the other side of the duplex can be rented as a whole unit. He added that this host could not have another short- term rental elsewhere in the City. The two units could not each be a "whole home" rental. Commissioner SIMBAI inquired if the 1+1 opportunity is 1 license or 2. He also asked how the wait list will work. Mr. Cutler said that each short-term rental unit has its own license; explaining there would be one license for the partial and one for the whole home. Ms. Mikulak added that this idea parallels existing protocols for business licenses; there is one license for each business location. Mr. Cutler also explained that the wait list will fall under an administrative policy and will be maintained in a chronological order and a rolling basis, selecting the applicant at the top of the list when a license is no longer being used. Ms. Mikulak added that a waitlist will be easier to manage as opposed to a lottery situation. Commissioner KRICHIVER asked if the definition of short-term rental not including "for compensation" is intentional because the definition of hotel/motel includes the phrase. Mr. Cutler noted that this was not intentional; the hotel/motel definition was inherited when the City incorporated and the definition for short-term rental is the definition other cities use including the City of Denver. Commissioner KRICHIVER then asked if parents coming for a visit makes the home a short-term rental. Planning Commission Minutes -2— December 2— December 17, 2020 Ms. Mikulak explained that the purpose of this ordinance is to license a commercial enterprise and adding "for compensation" could be added to the short- term rental definition to be consistent with other lodging -related definitions already in the code. There was then discussion about the terms of Building, Structure and Dwelling Units. In response to a question regarding the exclusion of recreation vehicles (RV) being short-term rentals Mr. Cutler and Ms. Mikulak explained that the code already prohibits residential occupancy of RV's in City limits. Commissioner KRICHIVER also asked how the City plans to license the short- term rentals that are already in existence. Mr. Cutler said the intent of the ordinance is to have a grace period of 4 to 6 months to get registered. Commissioner LARSON asked how the City knows who is currently operating a short-term rental. Mr. Cutler explained that the City has engaged with Yd party vendors to aid in the assistance of this program. The City can then purchase the data collected and notify those who have been operating STRs. Commissioner LARSON also inquired about HOA's being notified about short- term rentals. Mr. Cutler clarified that this will be a big challenge, but most likely it will be the property owner that is notified if the cap is met in a development. Ms. Mikulak added that the City does not enforce any private covenants so an HOA can create their own regulations about short-term rentals. Commissioner ANTOL asked if there will be an opportunity to notify the HOA's. Mr. Cutler mentioned the City does not have a database of HOA's but potentially with licensing there could be a direct line of communication and this will be specific to HOA's in condo developments, not single-family developments. Commissioner ANTOL asked for clarity regarding STRs in commercial districts and multi -use districts. Mr. Cutler mentioned that there are some commercial and mixed-use properties that have residential dwellings on them which are generally found on commercial corridors such as 44th and 381h Avenues. He added that the cap for short-term Planning Commission Minutes -3— December 3— December 17, 2020 rentals applies only to single family residential, duplex and single family attached townhome properties; commercial districts are regulated differently. He also explained that for apartment buildings there will still be a cap, but it will be different than residential areas. Commissioner ANTOL also wondered if this ordinance will drive up rental prices. Mr. Cutler said that proliferation will be limited by the cap being in place at 2% and the additional apartment cap. This should reduce impacts on rental prices. Commissioner ANTOL also inquired what the revenue potential for the City could be and if there will be a tax to the property owner. Mr. Cutler said a lodging tax will apply to short-term rentals and there will be an application fee as well. Commissioner OHM asked if a host can rent out more than one room such as an entire basement. Mr. Cutler confirmed this is possible if the host is living in the building and it is not a separate dwelling unit. In response to a question from Commissioner OHM about safety minimums being met, Ms. Mikulak explained that STRs are being treated similarly to home-based businesses for which inspections are not done by the City. She added that part of the process will be for the applicant to attest that all safety minimums have been met, such as egress and smoke/CO detection. If the occupant feels unsafe and mentions to the City, then a license could potentially be revoked. Commissioner OHM also inquired about max occupancy and parking requirements. Mr. Cutler explained that occupancy is regulated by the building code and has not seen it as a part of an ordinance in other cities and the same limits would apply to the short-term rental as it would a single-family residence. Regarding parking Mr. Cutler explained that there will be provisions if a property is deficient in parking then they will have to add a space then apply for the license. Commissioner OHM asked about some of the past issues that Code Enforcement has had dealing with short-term rentals. Ms. Mikulak clarified there have not been many calls and if it is not a nuisance call then Code enforcement can't enforce the existence of a short-term rental with the way the code is currently written. Mr. Cutler added that staff engaged with the Police Department to see if there have been any past issues. If there is an issue PD Planning Commission Minutes -4— December 4— December 17, 2020 is often not aware the building is a short-term rental since they are currently unlicensed. Commissioner DISNEY inquired if the permitted number of spaces will be verified. Mr. Cutler explained that the applicant has to attest there are enough spaces and most likely staff will verify during the application process. Commissioner LARSON asked if Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) will be mentioned in the ordinance. Mr. Cutler said it was intentionally left out of the ordinance because they currently are not allowed in the City of Wheat Ridge. If they are allowed in the future, the ordinance could allow short-term rentals in ADUs unless modified to prevent it. Public Comment Nobody wished to speak. It was moved by Commissioner KERNS and seconded by Commissioner LARSON to recommend approval of a code amendment modifying Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws concerning the regulation of short-term rentals. With the following condition: 1. Add "for compensation" to the definition of Short -Term Rental in Chapter 26-123. Motion carries 7-0. Commissioners KRICHIVER, LARSON, SIMBAI and ANTOL complemented staff on their homework and thoughtfulness to this ordinance. 8. OLD BUSINESS 9. NEW BUSINESS A. Upcoming Dates Planning Commission Minutes -5— December 5— December 17, 2020 Ms. Mikulak mentioned that the City will be closed on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1 this year. She added there will not be a January 7 Planning Commission meeting, but the January 21 meeting will be held. 10. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Commissioner DISNEY and seconded by Commissioner ANTOL to adjourn the meeting at 8:19 p.m. Scott Ohm, Chair Planning Commission Minutes December 17, 2020 Motion carried 7-0. Tammy Odeaih-,-Itecording Secretary