By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

Short-term rental (STR) regulation is back on the Homer City Council agenda with the introduction of two memos at its upcoming Monday, March 23, meeting.

The first from the Planning Commission (PC) recommends that the council forward to the Economic Development Advisory Commission (EDC) a memorandum written by Commissioner Dotti Harness about ways to “change the short-term rental registration narrative to long-term rental incentives.”

Planning Commission Chair Scott Smith said the memo is not a recommendation but is good information for the council to have and consider.

In the second memo, the EDC says it’s ready to take up the STR issue again with guidance from the council. 

“Our memo is reminding the council that this has been an issue in the past,” Karin Marks, EDC chair, said in a phone interview on March 17. “We recognize the importance of this issue and want to tackle it with the city council’s blessing.”

In November 2023, the city council introduced an ordinance to institute permits, fees and penalties on STR operators.The ordinance was meant to create a framework for STR regulations to ensure they were safe, not public nuisances and paying sales tax. 

The ordinance met vigorous opposition primarily because it did not address its stated objective to improve housing availability, there was no reliable information on whether or not STR owners were paying sales tax, and owners believed it impinged on their right to earn income from their properties. 

Other opposition was because the ordinance did not protect neighborhoods from the encroachment of STRs.

Ultimately, the council voted the ordinance down after the EDC and PC recommended going back to the drawing board.

Marks believes the current interest in STRs comes from the realization that neither the recently adopted 2045 Comprehensive Plan Update nor the Title 21 zoning updates can adequately identify and address the “nitty gritty” of the key issues. 

“It’s serious enough that it’s now come back because it needs to be dealt with,” Marks said.

In her memo, Commissioner Harness reports how communities from California to Maine are using incentives to encourage long-term rentals and the conversion of STRs to long term. While concerned about how incentives could be funded, Marks said it was good that Harness brought them up because the city needs to talk about all possibilities. 

Public hearings and new measures

The council will hold public hearings on two ordinances for the purchase of four properties to bolster the city’s utility infrastructure. Two lots comprising 11.29 acres adjacent to the 1 million-gallon water treatment tank on Skyline Drive will provide for future expansion of water treatment operations. Two lots totaling 2.95 acres immediately adjacent to the city’s Bridge Creek Reservoir will help protect the city’s water quality from future development.

New ordinances to be introduced are, from the Port, approval of a 10-year lease with renewal options with Sea Tow Southcentral Alaska and, from Public Works, appropriation of $78,792 for East Hill Road City Utility Betterments.

Prior to the 6 p.m. regular meeting, a 4 p.m. council worksession will focus on strategic planning. J&H Consulting, the city’s lobbyists in Juneau, and more strategic planning are on the agenda for the 5 p.m. Committee of the Whole.

All city council meetings are open to the public at the Cowles Council Chambers at City Hall, 491 E. Pioneer Ave. Full information is available on the city web site for how to get agendas and supporting documents, submit written testimony and attend meetings in person, via Zoom or by phone. The regular meeting is broadcast live at 6 p.m. on KBBI public radio AM 890.