Whitehorse council postpones vote on short-term rental rules
CBC
Whitehorse city council has postponed its decision on an overhaul of its zoning bylaws that would, among other things, introduce short-term rental regulations in the city.
“This is a huge bylaw – impacting almost everybody in our community, one way or another,” said Coun. Dan Boyd at Monday’s city council meeting.
A zoning bylaw rewrite is required after the city adopts a new official community plan – which happened in 2023. The bylaw changes have been in the works since then.
Proposed changes include the controversial introduction of regulations for short-term rentals like those advertised through Airbnb or Vrbo. If passed, people in residential zones would only be allowed to operate short term rentals out of the property they are living on.
There are a number of other proposed changes in the bylaw rewrite, many aimed at encouraging densification and housing development, including:
The bylaw vote was scheduled for Jan. 12, but councillors agreed they needed more time to make changes. Second and third reading was postponed to Feb. 12, which is scheduled to be a special city council meeting on the topic of the bylaw revision only.
“I think it’s safe to say that a number of us feel like there’s a number of other things we would like to make changes to,” said Coun. Lenore Morris.
Several councillors said on Monday they’re considering revisions on building heights, light pollution, parking requirements, and short term rental rules – but none specified what those revisions will be.
A city staff report said a public hearing on the proposed bylaw amendment in mid-December drew 151 responses. Three-quarters of the submissions voiced concerns or total opposition to something in the bylaw.
Nearly 70 of those submissions were related to the proposed short-term rental rules.
Some said the rules would be a financial blow to short term rental owners and would limit options for visiting medical professionals and community members seeking care in Whitehorse. Some also argued that the proposed rules would not have any effect on housing stock and affordability, because owners of short term rentals aren’t interested in becoming landlords.
Other submissions spoke in favour of the proposed rules as a way to address the local housing crisis.
Some people provided mixed feedback on building heights, parking requirements, and amendments allowing for development and densification.
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