Vacation rental regulations now in effect

Regulations for vacation rentals in Columbia Falls and its one-mile planning jurisdiction went into effect Aug. 16.

The city’s existing zoning regulations had been silent on whether homes in residential neighborhoods could be rented out for less than 30 days. The new regulations were unanimously approved by the Columbia Falls City Council on June 4.

After hearing concerns from neighbors, the city opted to establish a permit system to keep track of short-term rental units and possibly reduce their number in residential neighborhoods.

Under the new regulations, property owners who want to operate vacation rentals in the city’s suburban-agriculture or residential zoning districts must apply for an administrative conditional-use permit. The permit requires applicants to:

• Provide contact information to the city.

• Provide at least two off-street parking spaces.

• Provide a sign-off by the Columbia Falls Fire Marshal.

• Obtain a Montana Public Accommodation License for a Tourist Home from the Flathead County Health Department, which will conduct annual inspections.

• Collect and submit Montana bed taxes.

• Erect no signs advertising the vacation rental business.

• Obtain a city business license if inside the city limits.

• Review and adhere to all covenants and conditions for the subdivision in which the vacation rental is located.

Existing vacation rental businesses will not be “grandfathered in” as a legal nonconforming use if the owner never before obtained a health department license. Illegal nonconforming businesses must go through the administrative CUP process to operate.

Columbia Falls Realtor Bill Dakin continued to lobby for a second look at the new regulations, this time before the city-county planning board on Aug. 14. While agreeing that regulations were needed, he expressed concern that allowing vacation rentals in all residential zones will impact real estate sales.

“While their impacts are not always really bad, they do have a bad reputation,” he said.

He also noted that vacation rentals should be limited to detached single-family homes. Neighbors to a vacation rental in a duplex would have little separating them from a short-term occupant who could be bent on loud partying, he explained.

Home buyers who wanted to avoid vacation rentals in their neighborhood might be forced into more expensive subdivisions that offer covenants, Dakin said. On the other hand, many Columbia Falls subdivisions with covenants have weak homeowner associations that may not enforce rules against vacation rentals.

City manager Susan Nicosia said she expects to see less vacation rentals in Columbia Falls, considering all the permit requirements. As of Aug. 14, the city had received no applicants, she said.