Rattling Cages
Kathy Cage urges Council to let voters decide home rental issue.
Single-family rental (SFR) ballot initiative proponent Kathy Cage had plenty to say at Wednesday night’s Town Council meeting in Suite Z. She began by informing Council that the official notice for the SFR initiative will run in papers this week (see p. 19), and that volunteers will begin gathering signatures at Vons on Saturday, March 7.
Cage, Michael Agnitch, and Tom Gaunt filed a ballot initiative regarding nightly home rentals in residential neighborhoods on Feb. 2. Their stated intent is to require Town Council to seek voter approval before changing the laws regarding transient rentals of homes in residential zones.
Should the initiative receive signatures from 10 percent of Mammoth residents, Council can either adopt it, or it will go on the General Election ballot. Should it receive signatures from 15 percent of residents, Council can either adopt it, or the initiative will go to Special Election. It then requires a simple majority; a majority of “yes” votes will fix all current zoning in place, and require a public vote for any future proposed changes.
“If you rent, support this initiative,” Cage said. She argued that if more single-family homes become available for nightly rentals, owners will begin offering those houses for rent only on weekends, rather than for monthly rentals, limiting the supply and driving up the price of the remaining monthly rentals.
Cage also expressed frustration over a Consent Agenda item approving the removal of a use permit requirement for Residential Multi-Family-2 (RMF-2) homes, which are currently zoned for transient rental.
25 homes reside within the RMF-2 zone.
Cage argued that Council has not discussed issues relating to transient rentals, such as trash, snow removal, and parking, during its consideration of whether or not to remove the use permit requirement for RMF-2.
“All that was discussed was whether or not this was an appropriate zone for nightly rentals, and it is,” she said. But, she added, “One of the things you lost by taking away the use permit is the ability to put in conditions of use.”
Attorney Andy Morris did say that while Council would no longer be able to require operational conditions as part of the use permit process, “Council could adopt rules that apply generally to any zone,” he said.
“We have already stated and we’ll be moving forward the idea of a quality of life ordinance for all transient rentals, regardless of zone,” said Mayor Jo Bacon. “I see this as just one of the many steps we’ll be taking.”
“No one’s made their mind up about anything,” Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Raimondo agreed. “We’re trying to find the right way to go about it.”
Council unanimously approved removing the use permit requirement for RMF-2, then heard staff’s presentation on the SFR work program. The intent of that program, per Council’s direction in December of last year, was to examine quality of life issues related to transient rentals, collect data on legal and illegal SFR in Mammoth, and analyze the sustainability of the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Enforcement Program.
According to Senior Planner Sandra Moberly, only nine homes are currently renting with a TOT certificate, out of the total 74 homes zoned for single-family rental. In addition, there are 76 vacant lots within town that could house a single-family home for transient rental.
Moberly said staff defines a single-family home as a detached structure on its own lot, that does not share a wall with another unit, and is large enough to accommodate parking both within and outside of a garage.
All other nightly rentals, such as in Tallus, Stonegate, and Mammoth Gateway developments, are considered “like product.” Moberly reported that there are 11 single family “like products” that are renting with a TOT certificate, out of a total of 38 “like products” within legal SFR zones.
In addition, there are approximately 121 cabins available for nightly rental within Mammoth Lakes.
Based on a sample of one year’s returns from the nine licensed single-family homes, staff found that the average nightly rate is about $550, and the average monthly rental is six nights per month.
Meanwhile, of the 42 assessments of illegal rentals, staff determined an average nightly rate of $960, and average monthly rental of 12 nights per month.
Moberly said staff is currently transitioning from gathering its TOT information through business tax certificates, to creating a GIS (Geographic Information System)-based system, which will show where rentals are occurring and what types of rentals they are.
Councilman John Wentworth stressed that Council was not considering changing zoning in its discussion of the SFR work program, but was considering a quality of life ordinance to replace any conditions attached to use permits for RMF-2 zones.
Councilmembers unanimously directed staff to continue its data collection and consideration of a quality of life ordinance. Moberly said she believed staff could bring the completed work program back before Council by mid to late summer.
