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No question Airbnb and short-term rentals are popular, especially in Cook County. Of the 18 best Airbnbs listed in Minnesota by Trip101 for 2022, three in the Grand Marais area are in the top 10, and a fourth in Tofte is listed 12th. The Duluth area also has four making the list, and the rest of Minnesota’s 87 counties have ten places that make up the final destinations.
It’s evident that the North Shore is quite a draw for folks who want to get away.
So, over the last few years, Cook County has gained more short-term rentals, and with that, some dwellings that were used for housing residents have been turned into vacation rentals or second homes. This has helped lead to a shortage of long-term rentals for people who want to stay and work here in the county. Other issues have come up with short-term rentals that deal with excess noise, light, parking, unfriendly intrusions, septic, etc. Should, then, Cook County cap the number of vacation rentals much like Duluth and the City of Two Harbors have done? Increase the rental license fees? Increase the septic compliance to every five years to renew the licenses? Designate a property manager or owner of a vacation rental that can respond to an emergency in 40 minutes? Make sure the vacation rental complies with county rules, and if out of compliance, give the owner 45 days to fix the problem(s) or lose their license? And who will go around to ensure the rules are being followed if the county enacts many laws? Hire more help? Not follow through?
So, there is a lot to think through and to help the county board, the commissioners formed a Vacation Rental Review Committee to review the county’s ordinance passed on May 28, 2019.
The 18 volunteer members of the Vacation Rental Review Committee (VRRC) met Monday, August 29, and one thing stood out, there is still a lot of work to do before any changes are made to the county’s current short-term rental policy.
County Commissioner Ginny Storlie chaired the two-hour meeting with County Land Services Director Tim Nelson leading the discussion and Vacation Rental Administrator Joseph Routh on hand to answer many questions.
The VRRC was appointed by the county board on June 14, 2022, and acts as an advisory committee to the county commissioners. After nearly three years, the county is looking to review whether any changes need to be made for the VRRC licensing program or any associated requirements or if the program is working fine as it was first written.
Cook County Assessor Bob Thompson told committee members there were 335 short-term rental properties in the county, with 75 of those unlicensed. This total doesn’t include the City of Grand Marais because those short-term rentals aren’t subject to the county ordinance. Thompson added that the number of short-term rentals hasn’t gone up very much in the last two years, even though the perception might be that a lot more has been added to the county.
Thompson addressed the issue with owners who haven’t bothered to obtain Vacation Rental License from the county, saying a letter would be sent to them asking them to come into compliance in the near future. He reasoned that once the owners knew the county knew they were running a short-term rental business, they would comply and pay the fee.
Helping to steer the conversation has been comments from county citizens. For example, on July 18, Gregg Westergard, a resident of Schroeder, asked the committee to add Article 4.0 license application requirements to include “demonstration of current (certification of inspection) compliance with Cook County Septic Ordinance Number 58.” Westgard noted that the county’s septic ordinance states “that the existing systems are required to have a compliance inspection any time there is an expansion or use or a change in use in a building which may impact the performance of the system.” Westigard lives next to a VR and he worries his water may be impacted by the increased use of the next door building.
Regarding licensing fees, several members of the VRRC have proposed increasing prices to $350 per property and considering a different rate for managed and self-managed short-term rental properties because of labor differences in collecting license documents and lodging taxes. Additionally, they suggest a tiered fee structure in which homes that are owned by business entities and/or are solely used as vacation rentals (VRs) pay the highest fee ($500$); the rentals ($400); the lowest tier ($300) are VR’s that are connected to/on/in someone’s property (accessory structure, room in home, basement suite) and those homes where people spend a majority of their time.
For vacation rentals falling within resort communities, the county is looking at a variety of things, including that the local professional property manager is responsible for collecting and remitting lodging tax, and the local professional property manager must provide an on-site manager with an accurate occupancy count.
As of now, these are all suggestions and a lot more items are on the list to discuss, but some ideas will be presented to the county board at the board’s October 11th meeting. From there, the county board will solicit more conversation with the public and then make a ruling— or leave the current ordinance alone– about any changes to its short-term-rental ordinance before 2023 rolls around.
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