Neighbors sound off about vacation rental proposal

A proposal to add short-term rentals to conditional uses allowed in many neighborhoods throughout the county has drawn a substantial amount of public comment, both in support and against the zoning text amendment.

A Bigfork Land Use Advisory Committee meeting this week drew comments from about 30 people, split fairly evenly for and against the proposal. It was a special meeting to gather public input, so the committee did not make recommendations on the proposal.

The West Valley Land Use Advisory Committee met Jan. 24 and voted unanimously in favor of adding short-term rentals to zoning rules. The Lakeside Community Council met this week and also discussed the proposal, but the council typically does not make recommendations on zoning proposals.

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in the second-floor conference room of the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.

Some county residents don’t want short-term rentals allowed in the county — period.

Kim Schulke, who owns a home on Lakeside Boulevard in Lakeside, wrote to the Planning Board about the time nine motorcyclists roared up the driveway on a summer evening to stay in the home next door that was operating as an illegal short-term rental.

“Each time they came and went we were subjected to the same thundering roar,” Schulke said. “They partied out on the beach until nearly dawn. They yelled four-letter words at each other, with no regard for the neighbors … When we bought our home, we knew short-term rentals were not allowed and we would like it to stay that way so that we are not subjected to similar circumstances again.”

Lance Morgan, a Conifer Lane resident near Bigfork, wrote a letter to the Bigfork Land use Advisory Committee, saying that by removing the current 30-day minimum time period for such rentals, “the county will be allowing homes to become virtual hotels catering to transient guests.

“Every piece of property now adjacent to a quiet, private home in the affected zoning districts would, overnight, be effectively relocated alongside a potential commercial rental unit whose renters will be able to disrupt the neighbors and neighborhood,” Morgan said.

Johnna Hiatt said in a letter that removing the 30-day minimum rental period “will then allow an already out-of-control situation to become a virtual nightmare.”

Doug Averill of Flathead Lake Lodge wrote to the Bigfork committee about conflicts he has experienced with short-term renters near the lodge.

“The short-term renters, mostly unsupervised by the landlords, have disrupted the special nature of our neighborhood,” Averill said. He sited conflicts such as vacation renters “shooting fireworks into the woods during extreme dry conditions, speeding past elderly folks walking their dogs, trespassing on private property; late-night aggressive behavior, foul language, loud parties and piling multiple people and vehicles at a house that should accommodate far less.”

Heidi Delle, who lives on Swan Hill outside of Bigfork said her out-of-state neighbors operated an illegal Airbnb vacation rental that became a nightmare, with her having to extinguish fires in an outdoor fire pit and dealing with the noise of four-wheelers roaring around and parties. Delle’s vehicle was vandalized and her horses were allegedly harassed by guests next door.

While short-term rentals are a big money-maker for property owners, it also puts neighbors in an adversarial position, Delle said.

Lisa Gilbert and Monica Harris, who are pursuing a conditional-use permit for a camp and retreat center at their Wild San Trail property, said they support the proposed zoning amendment because it addresses “the problematic outdated omission of short-stay rentals” in zoning regulations and establishes a process by which property owners can legally operate vacation rentals on their properties.

“We believe that if Flathead County approves the proposed amendment, there will be a way to turn the hundreds of current Bigfork vacation rentals from illegal to legal status and to more carefully regulate the numbers, conditions and outcomes,” Gilbert and Harris stated in a letter to the Planning Office.