Commission recommends denial of special-use permit for 249 5th Street, citing housing-stock concerns

The commission considered a special-use permit for 249 5th Street, a single-family house proposed for commercial short-term rental use, and voted to recommend denial consistent with staff findings that approving the SUP would remove a long-term housing unit from the market and harm neighborhood character.

Staff noted the property was originally submitted before recent STR ordinance changes but that cumulative effects of approvals in neighborhoods weigh against commercial STR conversions. The owner, Danny McDougall, said the house's floor plan makes it difficult to rent or sell as a long-term unit and argued a short-term rental use makes the property economically viable while preserving the structure.

Commissioners discussed neighborhood context and whether this house's floor plan and marketability justify an exception; a majority concluded the broader policy goal of retaining long-term housing outweighs the owner's arguments and voted to recommend denial to the mayor and commission. The recommendation will be transmitted with staff materials and public comments for final action.