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Owners press county on draft short-term rental rules; committee defers action
Summary
Local short-term rental owners and a county board member urged the committee to clarify a proposed county ordinance; committee members agreed the county should avoid duplicating state licensing but saw value in adding neighbor-focused rules and a complaint mechanism. No ordinance vote was taken.
County short-term rental owners met with the Richland County Zoning and Conservation Committee to review proposed markups to a draft county ordinance intended to complement state licensing. The committee reviewed suggested edits gathered by local owners and discussed whether a county license or an updated conditional-use process would be more appropriate.
"There was about, I'd say, 10 to 11 short term rental owners that ... met and just kinda went through our concerns," said Aaron Halverson, who helped gather owner feedback and forwarded proposed changes to staff. Halverson told the committee he participated to ensure the county understands operator concerns.
County Board member Bob Frank urged caution and asked what the county ordinance would add beyond state licensing, noting "there's already state licensing" and asking whether the county would have the staffing and enforcement capacity needed. Frank said the state currently lists 30 licensed short-term rentals in the county and that 25 of those fall outside incorporated areas and therefore would be within the county's purview.
Staff and the chair said the county's intent was to add a "good neighbor" standard and a local response mechanism for complaints while avoiding unnecessary duplication of state safety requirements. Committee members discussed possible approaches: converting the conditional-use requirement to a county license, requiring evidence of a state license as part of a conditional-use or license application, or leaving enforcement to the state for unlicensed units and adding local neighbor-focused standards.
The committee agreed that committee members should review Bob Frank's written questions and the owner markups, post the draft ordinance to the county website for public review and continue discussion at a future meeting. No action was taken at this meeting.
