Council looking at ordinance expanding Airbnb allowance

Havre City Council member Caleb Hutchins said during the council's meeting Monday that he wants to look into an ordinance which would allow exemptions to operate an Airbnb in residential zones where they are not now allowed.

"Zone change is probably not the way to do that, it sounds like, so the other option that the city could consider, is the council could consider, changing the zoning ordinance to allow Airbnbs in those neighborhoods," Hutchins said. "Some cities across the country, because this is a countrywide phenomenon that people are trying to deal with and find solutions to, a lot of cities do have ordinances that say (they) will allow Airbnbs and similar services with certain preconditions."

Hutchins scheduled an ordinance meeting Monday, Aug. 19, to follow the city council meeting.

Hutchins said in an interview that he began looking into an ordinance after Havre residents Kerma Boyum and her husband, Joe Sarmiento, requested being allowed to run an Airbnb in a residential A-1 zone.

An Airbnb uses an online marketplace which lets people rent out their properties or spare rooms to guests. Airbnb is not allowed in a Residential A-1 Zone in Havre, but other zones, such as residential general, do allow Airbnbs.

The issue has raised contention, with some of her neighbors saying she misrepresented a petition to rezone the area where she lives in Northern Heights Drive as simply a petition to allow an Airbnb. Several people who signed her petition, thinking it was just for an Airbnb, said they did not support rezoning.

Havre City Council denied her petition to rezone the area July 1 after several people - including people who signed her petition - spoke against it.

Boyum said during the public comment period of Monday's meeting that she was misrepresented to the council and by a newspaper article reporting what people said. She added that there has been a large amount of confusion between her and the city on how to conduct her efforts to change her zone and most people support her in wanting an Airbnb.

Mayor Tim Solomon said that the city does not oppose Airbnbs and the city recently approved an Airbnb which is located in a residential general zone. The problem was Boyum did not go through the proper channels to get an Airbnb approved, he said.

Havre Public Works Director Dave Peterson said the city residential A-1 zone has no conditions allowing for Airbnb, adding that it needs to go to the Ordinance Committee meeting. 

Boyum said that other areas of the state have allowed Airbnbs to be established, such as Bozeman. She added that many people fear that if the zone is changed it would allow other businesses to move into the area, which would not happen.

"We would like to find a compromise that pleases the neighborhood by not allowing businesses in, but still allows homeowners to manage their private property the best way they see fit," she said.

Peterson and Solomon said that they both had read the ordinance in Bozeman and it still holds specific residential areas where Airbnb would not be allowed. 

Solomon said that it's not a question about if Airbnbs are good or bad, but a zoning issue of where it can be established. 

Council member Ed Matter also said the problem was one of procedures.

"The issue is you didn't do what you were supposed to do, you just got done telling us that you ran one without a license," he said,

He added that the place to further discuss the issue is at the Ordinance Committee meeting not in the public comment section of the council meeting.