|
|
Based on the Vacation Rental Advisory Committee Report, Cook County Commissioners will have a lot to decide before making any changes to the vacation rental ordinance before 2023.
The report was delivered to the board on Tuesday, October 11 and the commissioners agreed to set a public hearing on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, to be held at the Cook County Planning Commission to consider changes proposed by the committee to the Vacation Rental Ordinance #62 and authorize extension of the vacation rental license renewal for 2023 to run from January 1 to February 28.
Prior to the Advisory Committee meeting the county asked the public to fill out a survey to get input about the way the community perceives the vacation rental industry and the impact on the county. Some 579 responses were received with the majority of those coming from Cook County property owners. Those survey results were shared with the Advisory Committee.
The Vacation Rental Committee consists of 19 members made up of individuals from rental management companies and resorts, members of the public and local government and Coalition of Lake Associations and ten alternates. The committee was tasked with reviewing the almost three-year old county Vacation Rental Ordinance and licensing program and suggest changes back to the commissioners if any changes needed to be made.
Some suggestions from the Vacation Rental Committee include:
*Increasing licensing fees on vacation rentals operations with the money gained utilized to pay for more additional staffing resources for the Land Service Department. Currently the annual fee is $200 which is insufficient to manage the program and enforce the ordinance. The committee recommends raising the fee to. $400 annually.
*Eliminate the ability to transfer the rental license upon the sale of the property.
*Encourage the county to further develop the lodging tax collection system to ensure all operations are paying the appropriate lodging taxes.
*Requirement for approvals of all lake water supply systems for rental operations.
*County to require current septic “Certificate of Compliance” for all rental operations.
*Placement of a “Trigger” on the amount of new rental operation licenses along with a hard date of January 2024 to initiate another review. There are now 358 vacation rentals in the county (not counting the number in the City of Grand Marais), with the ten-percent limit being an additional 35 that would set a “Trigger”, which would compel the county to re-establish a panel to evaluate the establishment and administration of either overall numbers of operations based on zone districts or geographic area.
*Continue to limit the number of vacation rental units on an individual parcel to two.
*The county should distinguish between vacation rental operations that are out of homes or cabins in residential areas from those that are within resort complexes.
*Encourage the county to further develop the lodging tax collection system to ensure all operations are paying the appropriate lodging taxes.
*Requirement for rental owners to respond to notification of issues with the rentals within three-hours instead of simply acknowledging receipt of notifications.
Another goal of the committee was for the county to “Balance vacation rental license program to minimize adverse impacts to the community while respecting property owner’s ability to operate vacation rentals where deemed appropriate.”
In other county board proceedings:
*An After the Fact request by Nicole and Kirk Leand for a conditional use permit for farming crops and raising livestock (up to 50 chicken and dwarf goats) agritourism educational classes and farm store in the RC/R zone district at 233 Ski Hill Road was approved.
* Nellie Torgerson was approved for higher as Deputy Sheriff with the Cook County Sheriff ’s Office.
* Michelle Dionne was hired as a Case Aid for Public Health and Human Service.
*Carin Gulstrand was appointed to the Grand Marais Library Board.
* In the wake of the decision by the U.S. Coast Guard to decommission the Grand Marais Coast Guard station, Cook Commissioners wrote a letter of support for the Sheriff ’s office and Grand Portage Band to secure funding for Lake Superior rescue operations.
The letter was sent to Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Pete Stauber, and Rob Ecklund.
The letter suggests providing funding to purchase two new safety rescue and boarding vessels to be located on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and the Grand Marais harbor, along with safety equipment, staffing, and training on water search and rescue.
“We have coarsely estimated the financial need at about two million dollars to commence on water first responsibilities for this region of Lake Superior. Additionally, we estimate the annual operational cost for this responsibility at about five hundred thousand dollars per year for staffing and vessel maintenance.”
The letter was signed by Robert (Bobby) Deschampe, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal Chair; Pat Eliasen, Cook County Sheriff; Willie Olin, Cook County Search and Rescue Director; Mike Keyport Cook County Emergency Management Director, and Denice Swanke, Isle Royale National Park Superintendent.
Leave a Reply