Zzzip-a-dee-doo-dah!

Lunch sent Bodine to sit in the audience last Thursday for the Measure Z forum which Lunch moderated with Matthew Lehman. 

Lunch sent Bodine precisely because the first question out of Bodine’s mouth when handed the assignment was, “What’s Measure Z?” 

It’s hard to find good help these days. 

Here’s Mike:

The Measure Z forum hosted by the Mammoth Lakes Board of Realtors last Thursday drew more than a hundred people with nothing better to do – or because their nightly renting neighbors were making life too unbearable for them and they were forced out of the house.

But one thing is clear: Whether any of these people own a home or not they’re going to have to pay for an election on whether or not they want more elections. The county estimates the October 6 election on Measure Z will cost about $50,000.

Ironically, Z was introduced by a group of concerned citizens that don’t trust the Mammoth Lakes Town Council to make decisions because of a pattern of reckless spending of tax payer dollars.

OKay, I’m no expert on this “Z”ombie thing, don’t know the players, am not a civil engineer and don’t own a house here and could never afford one in this one-trick town, but petty politics, NIMBYism and distrust of politicians are staples for small-town journalists.

For example, there are rumors the council may have to pull money from kiddie playgrounds and programs to pay for the election, said Paul Rudder defender of the “No” vote. Given the council’s record, it’s not a stretch.

Measure Z is not simply a “yes” or “no” vote on nightly rentals in town like the “Yes” crowd says it is. Rather, it’s about whether or not the voters will continue to go to the polls every time there are future zoning changes that deal specifically with nightly rentals of residential homes.

I suppose cumbersome is the point.

As the “Yes” camp purports, the measure will give voters a chance to step back, said panelist Sandy Hogan, and time to comb through the fine details of a zoning change. A “yes” vote actually means “no” on allowing the Town Council to do a job that the people at the forum elected them to do.

The Sheet was late to the meeting because, like most things in Mammoth it was hard to find, part of the town’s charm, but evidently so are homes to rent for a short-term basis because of the demand. Hogan’s recent inventory found 185 stand-alone homes and 54 seasonals for rent in town. “No”-er, David Page read the list and said that of those, 108 are empty lots, 43 are single family-home leaving only nine single-family home rentals. The seasonals are winter rentals in the Lakes Basin.

Moderator Lunch, playing his typical role as devil’s advocate, said to Hogan that it sounds like nightly rentals are a win/win; people get to make some extra cash if they want, the town gets some TOT, and property values go up, so why was she against it.

Hogan said there are more than enough of homes to rent in town and that the council might pass zoning regulations that could allow for even more. Town Manager Dan Holler advised that neighborhoods already zoned with covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&R) that prohibit nightly rentals would preempt any attempt at a zoning change.

Cage said she has seen the reports and studies that nightly rentals lead to degeneration of neighborhoods and loss of property values. Page said that might be the case if the town was going to open up every home as a nightly rental, something never brought to the table, but the numbers of houses for rent don’t equate to degradation of property values. He added there have not been plans to open up the entire town to nightly rentals, nor have they ever been on the table.

Cage, a former Town Council member and the citizen who brought the measure forward said the issue is not about not trusting the council, but her perception was that the council had been moving in the wrong direction with the issue. So, Cage collected signatures and wanted to bring the issue before the voters.

Rudder replied that the council didn’t do anything but it is about to spend $50,000 on a vote before the issue even comes before the council much less the planning commission.

How to enforce the rentals was a topic no one really talked about. The “Yes” camp has pictures of trash piled up in front of nightly rental homes and other possible illegalities on its Facebook page with a statement, “If the Town can’t even shut down an illegal rental operating out in the open in a residential neighborhood, it is hard to believe they will effectively police the inevitable neighborhood impacts after they make nightly rentals legal in these neighborhoods.”

If I were a homeowner, I’d pressure the council to hire more cops or maybe a compliance officer to deal with the mess.

Can you buy one of those for $50,000?

The topic of bounty hunters came up, of course. Bounty hunters that would police illegal nightly rentals. No one brought up the marketing potential of bounty hunters; possible reality TV series, merchandising and branding. Holler burst the bubble by saying it would be hard to outsource tax collecting.

The next topic was how will nightly rentals and a possible rise in property values affect rental prices for Mammoth’s workforce. Rudder said the issue was about luxury homes, not long-term rentals. Cage called Rudder naive to presume a rise in property value would not lead to a rise in rental rates. She  explained the town has a fixed housing supply so when rents go up, those at the top have to take a step down to something affordable, and so on down the line.

Page, said other ski resorts are dealing with the same issues and trying to mitigate the impacts, and Measure Z does nothing to address the possible problem of nightly rentals. He said if you just ban something, its still going to happen. And now that the public has gone over the council’s head in demanding a representational government, the council is probably going to have a difficult time making a rash decision on the subject.

Page told Cage and Hogan that the two camps “were so much more in agreement than we know” and it would also be ludicrous to vote every six months there’s a zoning change. He said it was time to stop bickering and get to work.

Does that clear everything up for you? I had to go home and take a handful of ibuprofen.

Editor’s addendum: The one argument I’m really sick of is the notion that Council must decide and that voter referendums are bad. 

I just want the best decision, and I really couldn’t care less who makes it. 

A ballot measure shouldn’t threaten anyone. Argue your side. Your fellow citizens are smart. The best decision will be made. And if it goes against you, accept it, and if necessary, keep fighting to change it.

The only reason anyone should feel threatened is if their name is Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig is their backup.