By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
An ordinance calling for a temporary moratorium on short-term rental permits in residential zones will be on the agenda at tonight’s regular Assembly meeting.
Sponsors say the ordinance, which is up for first reading, is intended to protect the availability and affordability of long-term housing in Sitka.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Other items on tonight’s agenda include final consideration of an ordinance to prohibit commercial use of ATVs on Sitka roadways, and a resolution to increase fees for cruise ships that tender passengers to the Crescent Harbor and O’Connell Bridge docks to $1,418.75, an inflationary increase of 6.8 percent over last year.
The Assembly also will take up an ordinance to cover the expenses related to closing Lincoln Street to vehicles on cruise ship days when 3,000 or more cruise passengers are in town. A discussion is also planned on restarting the Bear Task Force.
Short-Term Moratorium
The ordinance related to short-term rentals proposes a one-year moratorium – April 7, 2022, to April 6, 2023 – on issuance of conditional use permits for short-term rentals in R-1, R-2 and related residential zones.
Sponsors Kevin Knox and Kevin Mosher said in a memo that they are concerned that with the expected rapid growth of tourism and healthcare sectors, “the proliferation of short-term rentals in R-1 or related zones and R-2 or related zones may threaten the availability and affordability of housing in Sitka.”
The two said that this is a problem many other city and local governments are grappling with. From 2017 to 2020, permits in R-1 and R-2 zones doubled, from 29 to 64 in the three years. (The number of permits has since dropped to 47, by the start of 2022.)
“Many companies like Airbnb, Flipkey, VRBO had their start in people renting out rooms in houses that they occupy as their primary residences,” Knox and Mosher said in the memo. “However, that trend has shifted as owners have discovered that STRs can be a lucrative source of disposable income, and there are now more ‘independent dwelling units’ on the market, which is an entire home or apartment that is unoccupied and used solely as a short-term rental.”
The recently released survey showed 90 percent of the short-term rentals in residential zones were independent dwelling units. Short-term rentals in residential areas brought in $47,000 in bed tax in 2021 – “with a total implied revenue equating to over $788,000.”
Knox and Mosher said it’s yet to be determined whether short-term rentals are causing increases in monthly rents and inflating the cost of real estate.
“There are houses that are being taken off the market by owners who will never occupy these places as their primary residence, and own the property with the intent of solely using the asset as an STR,” the Knox-Mosher memo says. “At the same time, many people living and working in Sitka year-round report experiencing hardship in finding a property to rent or buy, especially at an affordable price.”
Knox and Mosher noted that the proposed ordinance did not go first to the Planning Commission since it’s a policy decision.
Mosher said today he has received a handful of calls and emails related to the issue, with several in favor and one against.
ATVs
The Assembly will consider an amendment to the ATV ordinance which will prohibit commercial uses of ATVs that are allowed to operate on city streets under a recently passed ordinance.
Knox voted against the ordinance, citing his concern about the danger created by rentals to tourists who don’t know how to ride the machines safely, and the use of ATVs as taxis.
“... The intent is to prohibit commercial uses on the public roadways, both municipal and state, within the city and borough, not off public roadways if permitted by municipal, state and federal law,” the proposed amendment says.
The police department has started conducting the required inspections on ATVs for use on city streets. Inspection hours are noon to 3 p.m. Fridays. Police department spokeswoman Serena Wild said that four permits have been issued, including three “side-by-side” all-purpose vehicles. One applicant was turned away for not having a DMV registration.
Bears
Also on tonight’s Assembly agenda is a discussion about reorganizing the Sitka Bear Task Forces.
Rebecca Himschoot and Cheryl Duncan wrote a memo on the item, asking the Assembly to consider directing the city administrator to work with the Department of Fish and Game to reorganize the Bear Task Force with the goals of “providing measures that will help reduce bear human conflict in Sitka and a timeline for implementation of their recommendations.”
Earlier in the meeting there will be a presentation by Fish and Game wildlife biologist Steve Bethune and a report by the Historic Preservation Commission.
Lincoln Street Closure
A final vote is scheduled on a supplemental appropriation to this year’s budget on the cost of closing Lincoln Street to vehicles on cruise ship days. The appropriation will cover the expense through June 30, and the cost for the remainder of the summer will be in the budget for the 2023 fiscal year.
The ordinance will cover the cost of staff and supplies, and contracted services, for limiting the downtown closing Lincoln Street on days with 3,000 or more cruise ship visitors. The city hopes to use the Cruiseship Passenger Excise Tax to cover most of the expected $228,469 in costs.
