by Sienna Boucher
Staff reporter
The vacation rental discussion continues.
The second online community forum was held on June 18, this time focusing on common ground.
On Jan. 12, San Juan County put a six-month moratorium on approval for rental permits. In March, the scope was limited to just the urban growth areas of Lopez and Orcas as well as the hamlets of Orcas. It’s set to expire mid-July if it is not renewed at that time. It does not impact current rental properties but halts the momentum of new ones.
The online discussion, sponsored by the San Juan Island Community Network and the Sounder, Journal and Weekly, lasted more than two hours and looked at finding solutions for after the moratorium is lifted. The event was facilitated by Sounder reporter Diane Craig and San Juan Island resident Michael Soltman.
According to Jan Scilipoti of Lopez Island and a member of Hosting on the Rock, about 7% of homes in San Juan County are being used as vacation rentals and about 36% are used as second homes.
Formalizing a good neighbor policy that specifically includes vacation rentals was the common ground that viewers and panelists found themselves settling upon. The policy encompasses a possible cap on VRs during busy months to protect quality of life, making sure visitors are respectful and act accordingly, and also making sure that VR owners are aware of the impact they have on the island.
Toby Cooper, a fourth-generation Orcas resident and member of the Orcas Island Vacation Rental Working Group, said whether or not the VR owners live on or off the island makes a difference. He asserted that those who host VRs and don’t reside on the island take the money they gain from the island rentals and spend it off-island.
Doug Whittaker of Anchorage, Alaska, who specializes in confluence research and consulting, brought up the issue of rowdy tourists. To solve this issue, Whittaker said the island needs to compile quantitative data. If that data is not collected and organized seasonally, the county cannot understand the full picture.
“What you need to do is get a system for dealing with complaints, dealing with problems, recognizing that you need to collect information about where they happen, when they happen, how often they happen, and any other particulars,” Whittaker said.
He also suggested posting clearer rules for visitors and having better follow-ups with vacation rental hosts.
“It’s not just the number of vacation rentals that matters, it’s the impacts from the vacation rentals that matter,” he said, adding that the number of people who are staying in VRs, the frequency that they are occupied and the number of vehicles brought is significant. Whittaker suggested hosts could collect data on if visitors are bringing cars, how often they are using their cars and where they are going with their vehicles. Collecting data on this could create a metric to refer to, which will allow islanders to know how many vehicles are too many.
However, San Juan County Council chair Jamie Stephens said keeping track of this may not be viable.
“If we are to continue to enjoy and cherish the islands and pass this opportunity along to our children and our children’s children, we need to set limits,” Cooper said. “Reasonable and just limits but limits nonetheless on the vacation rentals.”
The third and final online forum will be held from 7 to 9.m. on Thursday, June 24, where collaborative action will be discussed. Visit https://www.sjicn.org/forums for details.
