Hearing Delayed On Chelan County Short Term Rental Code Changes

A group heavily focused on regulation of short-term rental operations in Chelan County is opposing proposals to change the zoning code.

The Residents Coalition of Chelan County says the changes would allow short term visitor accommodations on lots as small as a quarter acre.

Currently, the accommodations have to sit on 10 or 20 acres of land.

Chelan County commissioners will hold a hearing on the short term rental proposals, along with other county code changes, next Tuesday.  Commissioners originally scheduled a hearing for today, but pushed it back in order to review the large number of comments received so far on code change proposals.

There is a proposed change to the land use category “Small Scale Recreational and Tourist Use”, which would allow short term rentals of any size to locate in all residential zones with a Conditional Use Permit, according to the Residents Coalition.

The change was proposed by the Department of Community Development and approved by the Planning Commission.

Currently, the total square footage of “buildings and structures” is no more than 6,500 square feet for each 10 acres of land associated with the “project site”. The change would allow a 7,000 square foot limitation to apply to “each parcel meeting the minimum lot size of the zoning” rather than to the 10-acre minimum.

Also, currently one single-family dwelling unit is allowed for use by on-site landowners or staff for every 20 acres associated with the “project site”. The change would allow one single-family dwelling unit for use by on-site landowners and/or staff for every parcel of land associated with the project.

Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the changes at 10:15am Tuesday.