Short-term rental rules proposed for Middle Canyon

Property owners looking to start or continue short-term vacation rentals in places like West Glacier and Lake Five may soon have abide by county regulations before doing so.

The Flathead County Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations Wednesday night during its meeting in Kalispell.

Under the proposed changes, short-term housing in the Middle Canyon area, which includes neighborhoods from Lake Five east to Bear Creek, would be subject to minor land-use approval.

The proposed amendment would add short-term rental housing as a minor land use, along with performance standards and a definition of short-term rental housing to the text of the Canyon Area Land Use Regulatory System.

Under the proposed regulations, adjacent neighbors would have to be notified if a property owner wants to operate a short-term rental. In addition, no additional signs, other than the address, would be allowed. The new regulations, if approved, would include capping the number of guests based on the capacity of septic and water systems. The property would have to have adequate off-street parking and the home would have to obtain a Montana Public Accommodation License for a tourist home and would have to collect the 7 percent state bed tax.

Short-term vacation rental properties have surged in popularity in Flathead County in recent years, and the West Glacier area’s proximity to Glacier National Park is a drawing card. Some people even move out of their own homes during the summer months so they can rent them out to tourists.

On the Vacation Rental by Owner Website, for example, there are 133 houses or other dwellings listed for rent in the West Glacier region.

Under the proposed regulations at short-term rental is defined as “a residential use in a dwelling unit designed for such use for periods of time less than 30 days. Short-term rental housing may be referred to as vacation rental, tourist accommodation units, or resort dwelling units.”

The consensus for addressing text amendments regarding short-term rentals came after the Middle Canyon Land Use Advisory Committee requested a subcommittee be formed to study how short-term property rentals could be better regulated in order “to protect the health, safety and welfare of the Middle Canyon area.”

The planning board meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the South Campus Building, 40 11th St. W. in Kalispell.

Daily Inter Lake reporter Kianna Gardner contributed to this report.