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Commission previews proposal to allow marina-operated houseboat rentals with limits on size and ownership
Summary
Planning staff presented a draft text amendment to allow marina-operated short- and long-term rentals of floating lodging—commonly described in the presentation as "houseboats"—limited to large marinas, capped at about 5% of slips, and subject to ownership, registration and safety requirements.
Planning staff presented a draft text amendment that would permit short-term and long-term rental of houseboat-style lodging at marinas, subject to performance standards and city registration.
The staff presentation described the proposed approach as permitting the use "by right as a marina, with some kind of guardrails." Staff said the draft would limit houseboat rentals to larger marinas and cap the number of units. “The idea is that we allow it by right as a marina, with some kind of guardrails here. The important things I wanna point out is we wanna limit it to marinas that are large marinas. Right now, we're looking at about 250 slips and then saying that's, there's a maximum number of those slips. Right now, it's about 5%,” a planning staff member said.
Staff said only a small number of marinas in the city meet the size threshold—“I think there’s 2 in the city that fit that category”—and estimated that the cap would allow roughly a dozen houseboat units at one of those marinas. The draft described other guardrails, including:
- Ownership and management requirements: staff said the marina itself would have to own and manage houseboat units rather than individual slip owners renting their own vessels.
- Registration and tracking: the city would require registration and basic operational tracking for the units.
- Compliance with state and federal laws for floating structures and sanitation, and a requirement that marinas provide an on-site operator or manager similar to hotel-type oversight. Staff compared the oversight role to a motel or hotel: “You've got somebody there in case something happens ... that there's somebody there that can assist them.”
Commissioners asked whether marinas could list the houseboats on Airbnb or similar platforms. Staff said marinas could allow listing but that the draft’s ownership requirement intends to prevent unregulated private slip owners from operating rentals. “They can list it wherever they want. The the thought, though, is right now at probably any marina, you have somebody that owns a boat that lives on their boat. But, they're not renting them out. So this would be the marina themselves operating these, not just random people running a slip, putting a boat there,” the staff member said.
Staff and commissioners also raised terminology questions. Several commissioners noted that “houseboat” could imply a motorized live-aboard craft, whereas the applicant is proposing floating lodging more akin to a fixed bungalow on pontoons; staff said they would revisit the definition and consider alternate terms if needed.
No zoning action was taken; staff said the draft would return for further review and wording refinements. The proposal would require a text amendment and an update to the city’s marina regulations if the commission and City Council approve the change.
