About the proposed changes

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RULES

The following is a summary of what appears to be the most impactful provisions of the County’s proposed rules for home-sharing/vacation rentals. 

This summary is based on notes found here: https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/files/community-development/Draft%20Code_2020_0709_PC%20Rec_sub715.pdf

BASICS: TYPES OF ZONES AND TYPES OF RENTALS

The county’s proposed rules for vacation rentals and home-sharing will depend on what type of zone a property is in, and what type of rental it is.

If you are not familiar with the concept of zoning, it indicates that the county is divided into zones, and each zone is defined as being one of several types. The allowable uses for a piece of property are determined by what type of zone it is in. 

In Chelan County, some of the zoning types used for vacation rentals include Rural Waterfront (RW), Rural Village (RV), Rural Recreational/Residential (RRR), and Rural Residential/Resource (RR). 

You can read more about the county’s zoning types here if you are interested: https://www.codepublishing.com/WA/ChelanCounty/html/Chelco11/Chelco1106.html

The proposed rules define three types of short-term rentals:

Tier 1 Rentals are those where the owner is present on-site or within 200 feet for the duration of the rental. The owner can be away for up to 15 days per year if they leave another responsible person on-site in their absence.

Tier 2 rentals are those where the owner is not on-site. As far as I can tell, the large majority (about 90%) of short-term rentals in Chelan County appear to be of this type.

Tier 3 rentals are those hosting more than 12 guests at a time or designed to host events such as weddings, gatherings, or retreats.

WHERE WILL HOME SHARING AND VACATION RENTALS BE ALLOWED?

The District Use Chart on page 6 of the draft code (linked at the top of this post) determines what zone types will allow home sharing and vacation rentals. (Note: the rules are different in Peshastin, Manson, and the City of Leavenworth proper.)

In general, Tier 1 (owner within 200 feet at all times) rentals will be allowed in most zones.

Tier 2 (owner off-site) rentals will be permitted on:

– Rural Residential/Resource properties with lot sizes of 5 acres or more (RR20, RR120, RR5), and

– Rural Residential/Resource (RRR) properties regardless of size.

Tier 2 rentals will be banned on lots 2.5 acres and smaller in several zones:

– RR2.5

– Rural Waterfront (RW)

– Rural Village (RV).

– Based on my (partial) analysis of the county’s zoning and parcel maps, this would mean banning almost all Tier 2 rentals in RR2.5, RW, and RV zones.

Tier 3 (more than 12 guests) rentals would be allowed/banned in more or less the same zones as Tier 2. Where they are allowed, they would require a Conditional Use Permit, which involves a fairly difficult and time-consuming application process.

WHAT HAPPENS TO EXISTING OWNERS AND RENTALS?

In areas where vacation rentals would be banned, existing operators could continue to do so for 2-5 years, they would be forced to shut down. As far as I can tell, for most Tier 2 owners in RW, RV, and RR2.5 zones, this so-called “sunset” period would be 5 years.

OCCUPANCY LIMITS

Rental occupancy is capped at two guests per bedroom. A bit of good news is that their definition of a bedroom is fairly broad, which is appropriate for many recreational properties that may have non-traditional floorplans – such as a cabin with a large loft. Their definition of a bedroom is: “a ‘bedroom’ means either enclosed or open areas within a structure being used as a Short Term Rental that provides sleeping accommodations such as mattresses, beds, sofa sleepers, roll away beds, day/trundle beds, bunk beds, murphy beds, etc.”

However, there has been some discussion about wanting to tie occupancy limits to the international residential code, or septic permits. This could turn out to be quite restrictive for homes with non-standard floorplans, or for homes that accommodate larger groups for short periods.

GROWTH CAPS ON VACATION RENTALS

The total number of home sharing/vacation rental homes countywide will not be allowed to increase by more than 1% per year. If the desired number of new rentals exceeds 1%, permits are to be issued by lottery. NO new home sharing/vacation rentals will be allowed in areas of the county where more than 5% of housing units are already in short term rental use.

RECYCLING

The recommended code would require that “Where curbside recycling is available to the unit receptacles must be provided.”

PERMIT FEES

The permitting process for “Tier 1” rentals, which have the fewest rules, was expected to be “2-3 hours of review time plus some inspection time.” Renewals would require less time and would be less costly. 

HOW TO TELL WHAT ZONE YOUR PROPERTY IS IN.

You can go to https://maps.co.chelan.wa.us/GIS/ 

You will want to click on the “layers” button on the left side (it looks like several stacked diamonds), then ensure “parcels” and “zoning” are checked. You will need to zoom in to a certain level before zones and parcels will display on the map. (If the “zoning” and “parcels” options do not appear, the site may be malfunctioning again.)