Zoning board approves short-term rental permit for 950 Caledonia amid neighbor objections

Butte-Silver Bow — The Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 6-0 to approve special use permit 24-13, allowing a one-bedroom short-term rental at 950 Caledonia Street owned by Rex and Maxine Williams and represented at the hearing by McKinley Williams.

Planning staff, presented by Joella Thomas, told the board the property lies in an R-2 zoning district within the Uptown neighborhood place type and the Butte Historic District. The house sits on a 2,485-square-foot lot and has an approximate 824-square-foot footprint; staff noted the site has a two-car garage and room for roughly two on-street spaces in front of the house. Staff recommended approval with conditions that require the applicant to secure a State of Montana public-accommodations license through the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department, to obtain a Butte-Silver Bow business license for short-term rentals, and to meet occupancy levels set by the Butte-Silver Bow building code and the fire marshal prior to license approval.

Opposition arrived in written comments and in person. Planning staff read two emailed letters into the record: George Everett of 943 Caledonia wrote that the block “is a residential neighborhood and it would be ideal if it stays as one,” and said short-term rentals worsen housing scarcity and raise rents. Barbara Miller, who said she manages 946 Caledonia, wrote that a next-door resident reported feeling unsafe because of changing occupants at 950 Caledonia.

Tom Staples, who lives at 951 Caledonia, spoke at the meeting and said the street already sees heavy traffic associated with student housing and that the “additional unknown, element coming and going in the neighborhood isn't going to be helpful.” The applicant’s representative, McKinley Williams, told the board the home has been in the family since 2013 and that they had vacated the property in September and intended to keep it in the family by operating a short-term rental; Williams also said they had spoken with neighbors.

Board members discussed the written objections and in-person testimony. Several members said they are concerned about the effect of short-term rentals on the local housing market but noted that taxation and bed‑tax collection fall outside the planning department’s regulatory authority. Shanna Adams asked whether short-term rentals pay bed tax; Joella Thomas replied that taxation is not regulated by planning staff and that Butte-Silver Bow requires registration of public accommodations through the health department.

Tyler Schafer, a Zoning Board member, said he did not believe the short-term rental would generate more traffic than a long-term household and noted that long-term rentals have in some cases caused neighborhood problems. The board moved, seconded and approved the special-use permit with the staff-recommended conditions; chair Dave Wing said the applicant will receive follow-up written notice from staff.

The decision allows the short-term rental to operate only after the applicant secures any required state and local licenses and meets occupancy limits set by the building code and fire marshal.