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Staff outlines enforcement limits for guest houses and proposes affidavit to allow inspections
Summary
Planning staff told the commission that while accessory or guest houses are sometimes built and used as residences, the county currently lacks a reliable way to inspect occupancy or commercial use; staff proposed an affidavit that would permit compliance inspections and described square-foot thresholds used in the ordinance.
Staff described enforcement challenges around guest houses and accessory dwellings and proposed an affidavit mechanism to permit inspections of properties with such units moving forward.
Culberth said the county currently lacks a practical way to inspect guest houses and enforce duration-of-occupancy or commercial-use restrictions. He described a square-footage threshold used by staff (examples discussed in the meeting) and said: "We really need to be able to go and inspect these places because they are becoming more popular as the housing prices get up." Staff noted that under current practice enforcement tends to be complaint-driven.
To improve enforcement going forward, staff proposed an applicant affidavit that would give staff the authority to inspect a property where a guest house is claimed to be restricted by the zoning ordinance. Commissioners discussed the tradeoffs of enforcement resources and privacy; staff said moving forward an affidavit would help establish compliance and give administrators more control over accessory-dwelling trends.
