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Home My Public Portal AboutPublic Comment Court Leve Darrah Johnston From: Town of Truckee, CA <webmaster@townoftruckee.com> Sent: Monday, August 31, 2020 10:43 AM To: Truckee; Hilary Hobbs Subject: *NEW SUBMISSION* Public Comment Form for Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance and Permit Program Public Comment Form for Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance and Permit Program Submission#: 515665 IP Address: 47.208.196.128 Submission Date: 08/31/2020 10:43 Survey Time: 1 minute, 30 seconds You have a new online form submission. Note: all answers displaying"*****" are marked as sensitive and must be viewed after your login. Name court]eve Email court]eve@yahoo.com Phone (optional) Public Comment Comment submitted as document lf your comment exceeds 2000 characters, please use the attachment function below to attach your comment in a separate document. Attachment STR_FU LL.docx Please ensure that you enter your email address in the box below and click the SUBMIT button to receive a copy of your submitted responses for Public Comment. Thank you, Town of Truckee This is an automated message generated by the Vision Content Management SystemTM.Please do not reply directly to this email. 1 1) Annual fire inspections a. No rentals should commence until a fire inspection is complete. b. Confirm the home is equipped with working and adequate smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors c. Make sure all bedrooms have windows/escape route d. Defensible space checked annually e. Paid for by owner 2) Bear Boxes No rentals should commence until a bear box is installed a. No rentals should commence until a bear box is installed b. Homes need to have commercial level/number of cans and commercial level of service. c. Rentals should have no less than 1 standard size trash can per rental bedroom. 3) Operating permit a. Permit to be displayed on bear box to include I. Owner/Property Management company phone number and email ii. Code enforcement contact for Town of Truckee-must be 24/7 4) Occupancy a. Reduce the current level of occupancy I. Maximum of 8 guests per rental regardless of number of bedrooms ii. 2 guests per bedroom-eliminate two additional adult provision iii. Kids under 5 exempt b. Cars i. All cars must fit in the driveway.No street parking-regardless of time of year ii. No RV/Van parking/no `camping' in driveways In. Quite hours from 10:00pm to 8:00am 5) Homes on septic not eligible for rental a. No home that is on septic should be eligible for rental I. Residential septic systems are not designed for commercial use ii. Potential for contaminating water sources if overloaded 6) Transient Occupancy Tax a. Charge a higher tax rate of 18% I. TOT to pay for code enforcement staff ii. Failure to report or pay quarterly taxes results in a 12-month cessation of rental privilege iii. A portion of TOT goes directly to litter mitigation and funding for services such as EMS, general town improvements 7) Code Enforcement checks a. Random checks from code compliance officer I. Check for occupancy ii. Check for cars parked in the street in. Check garbage on typical check-out days IV. Check for noise nuisances after `quite hours' 8) Primary home rental only a. Property owners can only rent out their primary residence,not a second home or investment property for stays of fewer than 30 days. b. Homes may only be rented a total of 50 days per calendar year To: Town of Truckee From: Court Leve RE: Short-Term-Rentals and Noise Ordinances Date: August 31", 2020 Thank you for outlining detailed information with regards to STRs. The items listed cover many of the concerns residents (and property managers) share. Additionally,what you have put forth as potential regulations should not be a problem for a"good neighbor" or professional property management operator to comply with. However,there are a few points that in my opinion need to be revised and considered further. Lastly,please do your best to find balance between what our community needs financially but more importantly, what we need to sustain the quality of life that we all live here to enjoy. 1)Fire inspections. This needs to be an annual inspection and paid for by the property owner and no rentals should be allowed to operate until inspections are completed. Both for defensible space and interior inspections to ensure that appropriate and functioning smoke detectors and carbon monoxide devices are in place. Also,to ensure that the home is safe for evacuation in the event of a fire, i.e. no bedrooms without windows, doors aren't blocked, etc.Not doing this is putting profit before safety-and common sense. Hotels cannot operate prior to having safety inspections and neither should STRs, as they are classified as a business. A growing and real concern the reality of regional evacuation in the event of a wildfire. If you speak with fire department personnel as I have, you will quickly discover a legitimate concern about being able to evacuate the area efficiently due to overcrowding. In fact,those I have spoken with remark that a practical evacuation given such high occupancy isn't practical. Ignoring fire officials and/or not seeking their input on this topic could have grave consequences. Homes in residential areas were never intended to host such high occupancies on a continuous basis-they were not designed for commercial use and as such, commercial use should be prohibited in residential zones. You aren't allowed to open a retail shop or restaurant in a neighborhood. Why allow what essentially is a hotel in these same areas? It doesn't make sense and is NOT in the spirit of what neighborhoods are designed for; housing residents of the community. 2)You state that bear boxes are not required until 10/31/2022. (Note;your documentation lists 2021 but your online overview lists 2022-this needs clarification/correction) No rentals should be allowed to operate until an appropriate bear box is in in place whether operated by an individual owner or management company. There are a number of companies in the area that provide bear boxes and installation. With one phone call you can buy and have a bear box installed. It's just that easy. One of the main concerns many have is with regards to garbage and garbage removal-there should not be such a long period for compliance.Not only is garbage an eyesore, it's an environmental issue and lures wildlife and ultimately this will lead to relocating or killing bears. No permits should be issued until a bear box is installed-with an adequate number of trash cans to reflect the high occupancy of homes allowed. Town needs to determine a meaningful and equation between number of bedrooms/occupancy and/or square footage per number of trash cans/containers required. This should be based on the commercial-level use of properties and NOT based on `normal' residential estimates. 1 3) Bear boxes.Require an operating permit to be displayed which clearly outlines the number of guests and cars permitted. This should also have the owner/property managers phone number posted along with the number for code enforcement which people can contact 24/7. Code compliance officers MUST be reachable around the clock. 4) Occupancy; The proposal of two people per bedroom plus 2 adults and unlimited children under 5 induces overcrowding. Homes,regardless of number of bedrooms, should be limited to no more than 8 guests or two adults per bedroom-whichever comes first. Eliminate the provision for two additional guests. Eliminate greatly higher than normal occupancy rates for the intended use of a home which causes other issues such as too many cars and more garbage than a residential home can accommodate. It's not reasonable for example,that a standard four-bedroom home to constantly have 10 adults (and"X number of kids) on premise. This is NOT what neighborhoods were designed for. Keeping in mind that during peak times a home may be rented by more than one group of people within the same week. Most homes have two standard trash cans. Rentals need to have substantially more infrastructure to accommodate the heavier/commercial use. Without adequate facilities this will lead to guests using neighbors trash cans (this is happening) and/or leaving trash outside (this is happening) or dumping in commercial facilities in town(this is happening). Homes on septic systems should not be allowed to rent via short-term-rental platforms. Septic systems are designed and calculated for residential use based on number of bedrooms and based on the size of leach fields. Additional items such as hot tubs and garbage disposals require increased leach field size as they each strain the system.Not to mention the potential of massive increased use of laundry facilities. Allowing continuous,higher than average- (commercial/business use levels) will result in exceeding designed capacity and codes. There is also potential of negatively impacting nearby water sources with overloaded septic systems. Several references directly below with regards to septic systems. The increase in public sewer systems must not be overlooked as well. Note this first example is for a household average of 5 people. Many rentals in our area are 4- bedroom listings (or more)which equates to DOUBLE the recommended size. htips://en in�gdiscoveries.com/how-to-calculate-septic-tank-size-and-desi ng of septic-tank/ htips://www.epa. og v/septic/how-. o ptic-system-can-impact-nearby-water-sources htips://groundstone.ca/2018/08/septic-system-sizing/ htips://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic-Drainfield-Size.php hiips://inspectapedia.com/septic/NYS75- A.8_Absorption_Bed_Design Specs.php htips://up.codes/viewer/california/ca-plumbing-code-2016/chapter/H/private-sewage-disposal- systems#H2O 1.0 As a point of reference,where I reside in Nevada County, I was denied a building permit to add an ADU because I'm on a septic system. I own a three-bedroom home and essentially would be adding 1 bedroom. But a home that is allowed 2 people per bedroom plus two adults and"X"number of children is deemed acceptable, and this simply does not make sense and is not a responsible decision which has potentially serious environmental impacts. If properties with septic systems are allowed to continue; operators of STRs should be required to provide proof of professional septic maintenance annually. 2 5) TOT. STRs should be taxed at a higher rate (18%)to pay for the code enforcement staff needed and additional funds going to keeping towns infrastructure up to date, increase in EMS services, etc. There is also an inequity of taxes collected via STRs when compared to that of hotels. A lower tax rate on hotels will make them more competitive an attractive to visitors,which keeps visitors closer to the business/commercial downtown also benefitting retailers and restaurants. Missing a quarterly report or payment should result in a mandatory 12-month cessation of rental. 6) Spot-checks. Code enforcement should conduct random spot-checks on rentals. Checks should at very least include checking to make sure there is no use of street or neighbors parking. There should also be checks on common checkout days, i.e. Sunday evenings or Monday mornings to ensure that trash is disposed of correctly. 7) Primary home rentals only;property owners can only rent out their primary residence, not a second home or investment property for stays of fewer than 30 days. However,NONE of this is worth anything if there isn't meaningful enforcement. The 3 strikes rule proposed is a key element which no good neighbor/property management company should have issues with. The outlined regulations won't be neglected if they are truly committed to reducing the negative impacts and concerns of STRs. Code compliance needs to be available 24/7. The priority needs to be on the full-time residents and quality of life and making sure STRs have minimal, if any negative effects on daily life. Town also needs to maintain an online information resource page clearly outlining what is permitted and a way for people to file complaints. I truly believe that STRs do not provide ANY positives to the community aside from financial gain. If there was a vote on banning them outright by registered voters in the community, I am confident they would be banned. (Ask anyone to give you just three positive examples aside from finance that STRs provide to our community). STRs do not create or add positively to the character of our community; they don't contribute to the arts and culture or benefit the community in any meaningful manner-it's all purely financially driven. Please consider a cap of 50 nights per calendar year. STRs ARE nothing short of residential homes being turned into a commercial enterprise.Your own documentation outlines that properties will change from needing a `Business License"to "Business License Regulations". The fact that the term"Business"is used clearly classifies these rentals as a business,which is NOT what neighborhoods were designed for. Businesses should remain in the business districts of towns. It really is that simple. I have spoken with several retail businesses and restaurants and cleaning services. I expected to find that they are in favor of STRs and rely on them for sustaining their businesses. What I found was quite the opposite. The ones I spoke with simply can't keep up with demand, don't like the traffic caused, and feel their level of service and experience they offer suffers-not to mention their own quality of life (and affordable workforce housing issues). Also, `thrifty' visitors are generally not buying art or eating at fine restaurants,we need quality visitors over quantity. In short, STRs benefit the property owner who is often not a true member of the community and those profits leave the community. 3 Full-time residents are subject to new groups of`neighbors' sometimes twice per week. (Have you ever had a resident write you telling you how awesome and excited they are living next to a STR?) In contrast, how many have contacted Town reporting nuisance issues?With high occupancy comes additional traffic and general overcrowding of our area-not to mention loss of community. I cannot start a restaurant out of my garage,but anyone is allowed to run a business, a commercial rental property (that IS what they are)without any experience or knowledge and very low health and safety standards. This doesn't make sense and is NOT in the spirit of how the area was designed and zoned and not what our infrastructure has been designed to handle; trash, sewer,roads,EMS, etc. I hope that Town will consider strict and meaningful regulations both for the immediate and also longer-term. What will Truckee look like in 5-10 years?We are already at a tipping point, garbage,traffic and overall quality of life is deteriorating. Locals hide on weekends (how has your own life been impacted over the past several years?), it's becoming unlivable. With the ability to leverage residential homes to their maximum value this will entice investors to purchase properties anytime there is a dip in the market to run them solely as vacation rentals which will have further impacts on affordable housing and general real estate value making it impossible for the average resident of town to ever purchase a home. I understand that Truckee is, in part, a tourism-based economy. However,we are clearly `on the map' and arguably have more visitors than we can handle-making life miserable for residents and a diminished experience for tourists. While it's important to find balance, currently tourism is being favored over the quality of life of full-time residents that make up the core of this community. The current pace of tourism is simply not sustainable. Slowing the volume of tourism will benefit the culture and slow the frantic pace of town and ultimately give visitors a better experience with reduced traffic and less general overcrowding-and remain a safe place to live and visit. You have an opportunity to create sensible,meaningful regulations that will directly impact the future of Truckee. Sincerely, Court Leve 20-year resident Town of Truckee documentation/references: Ordinance 2020- https://www.townoftruckee.com/home/showdocument?id=20281 Short-Term-Rental and Noise Ordinance htips://www.towno$ruckee.com/govemment/town-manager/short-term-vacation-rental-ordinance- and-permit-program 4