The following is supplementary information to presentations made by concerned residents on September 22, 2021 and by STR owners on October 13, 2021
1) ZONING
As you are aware, our Municipality has two zoning bylaw documents: Bylaw 1311 is specific to the Onanole area. The Residential General Zone provides for low density one-family residential development as well as two-family and moderate density multi-family residential development as a conditional use. The central issue to the debate regarding STRs is clearly zoning. Ultimately, they violate the essence of residential zoning bylaws.
The Urban Use Table outlines permitted and conditional uses in the Urban Area Zone. Table 7-1 found on page 27 in Part 7 lists some of the commercial businesses not permitted in a residential zone: such as bakeries, cafes, retail stores, automotive shops, hotels and motels. Some businesses may operate in a residential zone such as bed and breakfasts (conditional use) or home-based businesses as an accessory use (permitted or conditional depending on the zone).
The interpretation of hotels is found on page 62 of the document: it “means a building wherein accommodation is provided to transient lodgers, in any room or individual suite, with or without cooking facilities…”. This best describes short-term rental operations. According to the bylaw they should be restricted to commercial zones.
2) INCREASING TAX BASE?
Current STR owners have alleged that their operations somehow increase the tax base of the municipality. How? When they purchase existing properties, the tax paid remains the same. When they build new structures, the tax paid reflects the value of the new structure, which, in many cases, is a low-cost structure yielding less taxes than what a higher quality structure would provide. One need only observe the significant investments made by legitimate residents in both new and renovated homes to see that they are the real contributors to new additional taxes for the municipality.
Regarding the overall trend in increasing property market values, it is common knowledge that when overall values go up, mill rates come down, leaving taxes collected the same.
3) DOLLAR FLOWS INTO THE COMMUNITY?
The dollar flow created by STRs goes primarily to the owners collecting their short-term rent.
Whether it is groceries, fuel, hardware, restaurants, or coffee shops, regular residents are more likely to support local businesses than STR renters who are likely to bring plenty of supplies with them, party and leave.
Most “visitors” to the area are likely to spend their spare dollars in Wasagaming rather than in the Municipality of Harrison Park. And we know that the visitations to the Riding Mountain National Park
are already growing exponentially. STR renters outside the National Park represent a very small number relative to total visitor counts.
4) CREATING LOCAL EMPLOYMENT?
The busiest time of the year for services in this area is the summer months when local employers are already extremely short staffed.
For much of the year, many regular residents, especially some busy people who have limited time at their vacation home, employ gardeners, landscapers, yard maintenance businesses, cleaners, and the like. Most local residents need plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, arborists and septic services. General contractors are backed up with work. STRs might supplement those jobs, but by no means are they a sole or primary source of such work. In fact, some STR owners either do the work themselves or use individuals/businesses outside the Municipality. Moreover, STRs mainly require cleaning staff, who are part time workers.
5) PROVIDING YEAR-ROUND ACCOMMODATIONS & THE COTTAGE EXPERIENCE?
People who do not want to own a vacation property or cannot afford one, have many options in this area: camping at many sites in the area, mobile home and trailer parks, the old campground in Wasagaming, chalets and cottages in Elkhorn Resort, small cottages in the many commercial establishments in Wasagaming, plus lodges and hotels. There are full time legitimate bed and breakfast facilities in the Onanole area. In addition, some local residents have opted to rent out their bunk houses while they maintain occupancy of their main residence. That works too. But there is no need to insert commercial STRs into residential areas.
On the other hand, those who would like to rent a cottage home for a portion of the season, to achieve that “cottage experience”, should have the option to rent anywhere for periods over 30 days, including in our residential areas.
Ironically, based on the very high rates charged for some STRs on a per night basis, anyone wanting to rent a place for a month would potentially need to pay upwards of $12,000.00 for that privilege.
6) A GROWING INDUSTRY SERVING TOURISM?
STRs do not bring tourism to a community. It would be like saying STRs / hotels bring people to Winnipeg. Art festivals, concerts, pro sports, restaurants, parks and zoos, etc. bring the people, not hotels. RMNP is a tourist attraction, and the golf courses, restaurants, shops, trails, boating, and gatherings for weddings and events bring tourists to our community. STRs do not.
In fact, when the Covid 19 pandemic subsides and travel restrictions are eased/lifted, there may be times when legitimate local hotels and lodges and cabins may see a decline in localized tourism as people venture to further destinations. At that point, STRs would only be making business challenges worse.
In the end, many businesses serve tourism. They operate in appropriately zoned areas but short-term rentals do not.
7) LACK OF ALTERNATE PROPERTY FOR INVESTORS?
STRs are commercial investors who have found residential areas to pursue their business of being hotel owners. Why? If they want to engage in the accommodation industry, then build a hotel, motel, condo development, etc. in the appropriate zone. We know that some commercial short-term rental properties in Wasagaming are ripe for renewal and renovation. Do that.
Outside the Park, the Municipality of Harrison Park needs to identity and set aside commercial or multi family residential zones or condominium projects where STRs are fully permitted and internally regulated by the owners. That has happened in numerous urban zones. Yes, these are long term projects, but all good urban planning takes time and patience.
8) WHAT HAPPENS TO CURRENT STR “INVESTMENTS”?
Our understanding is that owners of current STRs did not seek permission from the Municipality of Harrison Park to operate their businesses in residential zones. As such, they took a risk. Should the Municipality decide to prohibit STRs in residential zones, current owners would not lose their investment. Rather, as mentioned in our first presentation, those owners could choose one of the following options:
- occupy their properties as homes, just like other residents
- sell their property to individuals intending to use it as a home or vacation property
- rent their properties for periods exceeding 30 days.
9) WHY CONSIDER RENTING FOR PERIODS EXCEEDING 30 DAYS?
Renting a residence for periods exceeding 30 days (conditional use):
- could provide accommodations for seasonal workers and long-term vacationers
- allows renters to become part of the neighbourhood and if any issues arise, they could be resolved quickly as with any neighbours
10) WHY NOT JUST “REGULATE” THE INDUSTRY?
If the Municipality tried to regulate these personal hotels, their numbers could potentially double or triple and the essence of our community would be negatively impacted to a higher degree.
Other jurisdictions that have tried licensing and regulating STRs have found that it is a bureaucratic nightmare, costly, and essentially unworkable.
We are a rural/urban small municipality that totally lacks the personnel to perform that task.
Condominium developments that are built for the purpose of allowing STRs do work. They exist in many vacation destinations.
And of course, the construction of hotels, lodges, and rental cabins in appropriately zoned areas would better serve the accommodation industry than STRs.
11) OFFER TO PAY COMMERCIAL TAXES?
That proposition has been put forward by current STR owners. It is ironic and duplicitous. If STRs are indeed commercial enterprises, they have no right to exist in residential zones. Yes, pay commercial property taxes when you locate in commercial zones.
12) WHAT ABOUT GRANDFATHERING EXISTING STRS?
Based on current bylaws, STRs are essentially illegal in residential zones. If new bylaws clarify that fact, so much the better for all. But, if anything should be grandfathered, the priority should be the entire group of residential property owners who have made this community their home. They are entitled to the protection of their major investments in their homes, whether they be part time or permanent residents. They never signed up to live in a hotel/commercial zone.
13) RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOODS
Everyone understands the concept of having “good neighbours”. They may not be your best friends, but they live next to you. You know each other. You sometimes exchange favours and needed assistance, watch out for one another and share your love of the neighbourhood you live in. Residents take great pride in their community by promoting it and showing support in a variety of ways. ie. volunteering, backing local events, etc.
An STR next to your home meets none of those criteria. In fact, it is the opposite. The continuous turnover of strangers never stops. They want to fully enjoy their rental with maximum number of guests to make their stay affordable at the expense of the residents in that neighbourhood.
It is noteworthy that STRs can create environmental concerns. In residential areas where septic fields are still allowed, the amount of sewage created is far in excess of normal family usage. Furthermore, the larger use of well water by STRs may contribute to the depletion of scarce water supplies, especially in times of drought.
Finally, and contrary to what has been stated by one of the STR owners, we have no problem with conventional home-based businesses operating in residential areas. Those kinds of businesses are outlined in current bylaws.
14) PINAWA
We previously offered some relevant examples of jurisdictions that have developed specific bylaws to deal with STRs. Those examples continue to increase.
But one that is noteworthy is the community of Pinawa, Manitoba. They recently passed an amendment to their zoning bylaws: “Short-term rentals of less than 30 days duration shall not be permitted in residential zones.” Period. Simple and effective. Page 20 DownloadDocument (pinawa.com)
We understand the municipality of Pinawa based their bylaw on the happiness of their residents, their quality of life, and the neighbourhood. We ask the Municipality of Harrison Park to follow the same course of action regarding short-term rentals.