Residents of Rocky View County who run short-term rentals like Airbnbs will be able to continue running their businesses while the municipality develops policy surrounding their operation.
At the May 14 meeting, council unanimously voted in favour of a moratorium on compliance actions related to short-term rental units. The decision was prompted by an investigation undertaken by RVC following a complaint, according to planner Paul Simon.
“In October 2018, the County received an anonymous complaint with respect to 65 potential sites that were operating short-term rental units illegally,” he said. “A further investigation revealed 10 sites in the Bragg Creek area were operating illegally.”
An additional complaint in March revealed another 10 units operating in the same area, he added.
The current LUB does not specifically regulate short-term rental units nor exempt them from requiring necessary permits, Simon said. A comprehensive review of the bylaw is ongoing, he added, and will propose specific regulations for these types of operations. Simon said administration anticipated the new LUB would be presented some time in 2020.
Before its ultimate unanimous decision, council defeated a motion by Coun. Kevin Hanson – proposing amendments to the LUB regulating the rental units as a separate project, ahead of the LUB rewrite – by a vote of 6-3, with support from only Couns. Samanntha Wright and Crystal Kissel.
According to Coun. Jerry Gautreau, the issued will be addressed through the forthcoming rewrite and a separate project would be redundant.
