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Home My WebLink AboutEmail from Callie Lutz - 10.23.18 Board Meeting News Recap Menchaca, Clarissa From: LutcCaK|ie Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2018 4:28 PM To: Lambert, Steve; Kirk, Maureen; Teeter, Doug; Wahi, Larry; Connelly, Bi Cc: McCracken, Shari; Clerk of the Board Subject: Oct. 23 Board Meeting News Recap Greetings: Below please find media coverage related to the Oct. 23 Board Meeting. Thank you, Callie TV Butte County Cracks Down on Short-Term Rental Market Action News Now October 23, 2018 By Stephanie Lin Butte Supes Move to Regulate Rentals, :oost Own Salaries Action News Now October 24, 2018 By Hayley Watts Butte County considering short-term rental ordinances for apps like Airbnb KRCR October 23, 2018 By Meaghan Mackey RADIO Butte County Officials Short-Term Rental Decision Postponed until December North State Public Radio October 24, 2018 By Marc Albert PRINT Supes delay Airbnb vote Chico News& Review October 25, 2018 By Staff Responding to public comments, the Butte County Board of Supervisors postponed voting on short-term rentals Tuesday (Oct. 23), instead instructing the Development Services Department to modify the ordinance. Supervisors sought three changes to the version approved unanimously by the Planning Commission (see tinyurl.com/BC-RentalOrd). Two code revisions involve removing requirements in low-density areas for a rental unit—i.e.,Airbnb or Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO)—to be the owner's primary residence; the other would allow secondary dwelling units of any size, not just those over 1,200 square feet,to qualify. 1 The ordinance will return to the board Dec. 11. Meanwhile, the Chico City Council will discuss short-term rentals at its next meeting, Nov. 6.That item relates to retroactive taxes levied on vacation home owners. (See "Blindsided," Newslines, Oct. 4.) Supervisors give themselves a raise;Snellings retiring Chico News& Review October 25, 2018 By Staff Despite Butte County's tight finances, the Board of Supervisors approved a pay increase Tuesday (Oct. 23)that will bump each of their salaries to $60,997 per year. The 2.89 percent raise, retroactive to July 1, coincides with the state's increase of judges' pay. By law, county supervisors have the option to match judges' raises.The budget impact of the change cited by county staff is$11,000 annually from the general fund. Meanwhile, the county is preparing for the retirement of Development Services Director Tim Snellings, who oversees planning, building and code enforcement. He'll work through the end of the year. His successor has not been announced. Snellings has held the position for 13 years. Red tape pushes two road repairs to spring Chico Enterprise-Record/Orovi lie Mercury-Register Online Oct. 24/Print Oct. 25 By Steve Schoonover When it comes to roadwork, bulldozers can move boulders out of the way, but bureaucrats can be harder to budge. So it is with two significant roads in Butte County that were damaged by the storms ofJanuary 2017.The work to repair them won't begin until next spring at the soonest, more than two years after the damage was done. The Oro-O.uincy Highway washed out in two places above Brush Creek during those storms, and about 20 feet of one lane of Centerville Road dropped a bit deeper into Butte Creek Canyon after a roadside tree blew over. The funding is pretty much in place for both repairs, expected to be$3 million for Oro-Quincy and $2 million for Centerville. All the environmental approvals from state and federal officials have been obtained.There are plans, but there's just one hang-up in each case. On Centerville Road, the Federal Emergency Management Agency needs to approve a "change of scope"for the project. "We've been waiting for them a long time," county Public Works Director Dennis Schmidt told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. He said later that FEMA,which is paying for 75 percent of the repair, started out with a "real simplistic"view of the "We knew there was more to it than that,"Schmidt said.Geotechnical tests were done that showed a far more substantial project was needed, but FEMA hasn't bought in yet. The supervisors asked if they needed to contact Rep. Doug LaMalfa to pressure FEMA, but Schmidt said to hold off for a while.The construction season for this year is all but over anyway. That's why the Oro-Quincy Highway won't get fixed until next spring either.That job is ready to go to bid, but in this case Caltrans hasn't certified the right of way obtained by the county. Schmidt told the supervisors the state questions whether one property owner has been paid enough, but he's not getting paid anything. Instead,some improvements are being made to his property as part of the project."The property owner is happy,"Schmidt said. The county has built a temporary"escape route"through the washouts in case there's a need for Berry Creek residents to flee a fire in that direction, but Schmidt said it's not stable enough for everyday use. On the upside, he said 40 roads in the county were closed by the January 2017 storms—the same deluge that led to Lake Oroville flowing over---and only five remain closed.The other three get little use and repairs are a low priority,Schmidt said. Short-Term rental rules tweaked by supervisors Chico Enterprise-Record/Oroville Mercury-Register Online Oct. 23/Print Oct. 24 By Steve Schoonover Butte County is likely to have some rules for people who take in renters for short periods of time, but not quite yet. An ordinance governing what are called "short-term rentals" was presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, but the board wanted enough changes that staff will have to go rewrite part of the document and bring it back again. The rules cover people who rent out their homes or rooms in their homes to people for less than 30 days,through online marketplaces like Airbnb.That website lists 4 million rooms for rent,according to county Development Services Director Tim Snellings,and the number is growing. The staff report said there are 135 properties in unincorporated Butte County on Airbnb and others like it, and several hundred more inside city limits here. And technically,they're all illegal.Snelling said such using property that way isn't listed in the zoning code,and what isn't listed isn't legal. "It's an unregulated industry," he said, "and a land use that's a little controversial." He said the new rules, which the supervisors asked for earlier this year, were the best way to support those who wanted to provide the service,and also to protect the peace of mind of their neighbors. The rules cover things like how many guests could be accommodated, noise restrictions,and how many on-site parking spaces would be required. There is also a requirement for notifying neighbors after the permit is issued,giving them contact information for a 24- hour host or property manager to address complaints about guests' activities.There's a provision for shutting down operations that fail to resolve three such complaints within 30 minutes. 3 "If you're a good operator with good tenants,this ordinance will have little impact on you,"Snellings said. Anyone wanting to take in short-term renters will have to get an administrative permit, a process that will probably be doable online.The first-year permit will cost$187.44,Snellings said, unless something requiring an inspection turns up in the application review. The cost should go down in subsequent years, he said. Renters will also have to pay the 6 percent transient occupancy tax assessed against hotel and motel room stays. County Treasurer-Tax Collector Peggy Moak said the county has an agreement with Airbnb to collect the tax, and the other similar companies are developing systems to do the same. The 2 percent Tourism Business Improvement District tax will not be applied. Only one person spoke to the plan, a man who had three contiguous 20-acre parcels, with his home on one parcel and another home on a second parcel that he rents out through Airbnb. Under the proposed rules he couldn't do that, as only a primary residence or a second unit on the same property can be rented out. "If this ordinance passes,we can play some game to rent out the house," he said. "There should be some provision for consideration of circumstances like mine." The supervisors agreed, and directed staff to allow a second home on a contiguous property to be rented out. They also asked for a process where unusual cases could seek a minor use permit through a hearing process. Other changes called for included allowing smaller"accessory dwelling units" to be rented out.As proposed, only "second dwelling units" larger than 1,200 square feet could have been be rented. There were enough changes that County Counsel Bruce Alpert suggested having the ordinance revised and brought back for approval at at later supervisors meeting.The hearing was continued to Dec. 11. ### Callie Lutz Communications and Public Information Officer utte County Administration 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965 T: 530,552,3320 M: 530.693.5262 Twitter I Facebook I YouTube I Pinterest 4