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Bicknell commission recommends extended-stay lodging rules to town council
Summary
The Bicknell Planning & Zoning Commission voted to forward a revised extended-stay lodging ordinance to the town council that would limit extended-stay room use to transient or extended-stay guests and bar guests from occupying such rooms for more than 60 days in any 180-day period, with staff tasked to clarify definitions and carve-outs for emergencies.
The Bicknell Planning & Zoning Commission voted to send a revised extended-stay lodging ordinance to town council with the commission’s recommendation after clarifying language and removing redundant provisions.
Commissioners focused on tightening definitions and preserving an intended distinction between permanent residents and guests. The revised text limits the use of extended-stay rooms to “extended-stay or transient guests” and includes an operative sentence stating no guest may occupy a room in an extended-stay lodging facility for 60 days or longer in any 180-day period. Commissioners asked staff to use the formal definitions section to explain who qualifies as an extended-stay guest and to add any necessary carve-outs for emergencies such as a household fire.
The commission also agreed to add a requirement that extended-stay units include a permanent or built-in cooktop or range to eliminate the potential for portable hot-plate setups that pose fire risks. Brock, who reviewed the draft with the commission, offered to prepare a simplified application/license form to support enforcement and to ensure the ordinance reads cleanly for town council.
Commissioners discussed edge cases at length, including whether the ordinance could inadvertently prevent a town resident displaced by disaster from temporarily staying overnight in a local hotel. To address that concern, commissioners preferred using the defined term “guest” rather than “person” and to list narrowly tailored exceptions in the definitions or an exemptions section instead of the operative prohibition.
A motion to forward the ordinance to town council carried in a voice vote with commissioners present saying “yes.” The commission asked staff to incorporate the agreed edits and prepare the document, application form and drafting notes for the council packet.
The ordinance will next be considered by the Bicknell Town Council at its upcoming meeting; staff said the council’s agenda and final ordinance number will be updated before that hearing.
